"Gonna be hard for Mike to do this…Unless it’s a No. 1 pick or a franchise-altering player, a LeBron James, a Magic Johnson" - Shannon Sharpe on the Charlotte Hornets' fortunes under Michael Jordan
Former NBA and Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan and his team, the Charlotte Hornets, have taken huge strides this season. However, many believe the owner still hasn't managed to build a roster with the potential to go deep into the postseason.
On Fox Sports' morning show Skip and Shannon: Undisputed, former NFL star Shannon Sharpe spoke about the struggles of MJ in building a championship caliber team. Sharpe believes it is going to be tough for Jordan to turn his small market team into a contender.
"It's just going to be hard for Mike to do this, I just don't see how he does it, unless he lands the number one overall pick and it's a franchise-altering player, a LeBron James or Magic Johnson, a Hakeem Olajuwon. You got to get real lucky if you don't the number one overall pick. You're scouting department, they better be on point."
The Charlotte Hornets had a wonderful start to the season as they found themselves in the top five of the Eastern Conference. But their form tailed off at the turn of the year, and they found themselves eliminated from the Play-In tournament last night after a loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hornets were blown out by the Hawks with the final scoreline reading 132-103, and their hopes of making the playoffs crumbled right before their eyes. Both LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier scored more than 20 points but that did not translate into a win for the team.
.@ShannonSharpe on the Hornets not winning a playoff series under Michael Jordan:
"You have to get lucky in the draft and hit the jackpot. It's going to be hard for Mike unless he lands the No. 1 overall pick and it's a franchise-altering player, like LeBron or Magic Johnson." https://t.co/xJSCrrnK8A
How far can Michael Jordan's Hornets go next season?
Admittedly, Michael Jordan's Charlotte Hornets have good players in the likes of LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier and Miles Bridges. The franchise reached the Play-In tournament this year but are probably good enough to make the postseason going forward.
Gordon Hayward adds shooting from the perimeter along with experience, while Montrezl Harrell and Kelly Oubre Jr. are energiser bunnies that can come off the bench to run the second unit for the franchise.
PJ attacks the rim 💥
@PJWashington | @Drpepper https://t.co/x5NvbXrtAQ
However, the team is a long way away from challenging for the championship as their best player - LaMelo Ball - is still very young and isn't at MVP caliber yet. The pieces around him are also not championship level yet, even though Bridges and Rozier are good enough to be on teams with title contention.
As Shannon Sharpe mentioned, Michael Jordan's ability to attract superstars will come down to how marketable the superstars are in a place like Charlotte. There is a chance that Russell Westbrook could become available in the summer and while he has had a poor season this year, he is still a good player.
Given the fact that Westbrook only had one year left on his deal, the Hornets are taking him on for only one season. They can cut ties with him 12 months later if things don't pan out.