Michael Jordan made sure Brandon Miller wasn’t going anywhere.
That’s the key detail coming out of Charlotte’s latest roster shakeup, and it says plenty about how the Hornets view their young wing. According to Zach Lowe, Jordan personally reached out to the Hornets’ GM to check on Miller’s status after the team moved through another offseason reset.
“About 14 months after that meeting [between Jordan and Miller], as the Hornets completed their offseason revamp by trading Miles Bridges to the Phoenix Suns, Peterson’s phone rang. It was Jordan.
The former owner wanted to make sure that Peterson wasn’t trading Miller too,” wrote Zach Lowe. “Peterson reassured Jordan: Miller was staying.”
For a franchise that has spent years drifting in the East, that kind of protection matters. Charlotte has rarely been more than an afterthought in the conference, but last season’s 44-38 finish and ninth-place standing gave the team a real foothold. Even with that progress, the Hornets still sparked concern when they suddenly traded Ball and starting small forward Mikal Bridges, leaving many fans bracing for another full reset and, possibly, Miller’s exit.
Instead, the message from the top was clear: Miller is part of the future.
Jordan, who owned the Hornets from 2010 to 2023, spent years trying to drag the team into relevance. He never fully got them there, but he did help lay the groundwork for the current version of the roster. Charlotte drafted Miller under his watch and gave him room to develop, and now the former owner still seems invested in seeing that bet pay off.
That belief makes sense when you look at Miller’s season. Away from LaMelo’s shadow, he’s putting up a career-best 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 37.8% from the field. The efficiency hasn’t been there, but the aggression has kept Charlotte’s offense moving, and his work on defense has helped set the tone for the group.
Kon Knueppel is also part of the Hornets’ long-term picture. He hasn’t debuted this season yet, but the team believes he can grow into a dependable go-to player on both ends. At 21, he still has plenty to prove, but Charlotte likes the way he fits alongside Miller and the rest of the young core.
The record right now says 3-5, which points to another ordinary season on the surface. Still, the Hornets have enough young talent to believe better days are ahead. And if Jordan’s call says anything, it’s that Miller has already earned a level of trust that few players get in Charlotte.
In Other News...
Brandon Miller Just Stepped Into The Hornets Story Fans Feared
The Hornets have officially moved into a new era, and Brandon Miller is right at the center of it. Charlotte sent LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to Minnesota in a massive deal that brought back Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three future first-round pick swaps and three future second-round picks, a clear sign the organization is reshaping its future around a different core.
Jeff Peterson made sure Miller and Kon Knueppel heard the news before it went public, a small but telling detail about where the franchise is headed. Miller, who recently signed a five-year extension, is now one of the faces of the rebuild, while Knueppel is still working his way back from a leg injury, leaving Charlotte with a young foundation and plenty of unanswered questions about what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Have A Finish Problem Fans Are Tired Of Watching
The Hornets latest stumble came in a 114-104 loss to the Nets, the kind of finish that has become all too familiar during a five-game skid. Charlotte had enough early momentum to carry a seven-point lead into halftime, and for a while it looked like the night might finally bend the other way before the game started slipping in the second half.
Instead, Brooklyn took control after the break and kept applying pressure when Charlotte needed a steady response. Naz Reids 28 points and nine rebounds gave the Hornets a strong individual line to build around, but Michael Porter Jr. answered with 26 points and 10 rebounds for Brooklyn, and the late-game gap only reinforced the frustration around Charlottes inability to close. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Early Slide Is Making The LaMelo Ball Decision Look Risky
Charlottes rough start has quickly turned a promising-looking season into a source of unease, with the Hornets sitting at 3-6 and stuck near the bottom of the league offensively. The numbers tell the story as much as the eye test does: fewer than 105 points per game, the NBAs worst offensive rating and the leagues lowest field goal percentage, all while the team has looked disjointed enough to raise questions about how much patience remains for a roster that was supposed to take a step forward.
Kevin OConnor flagged the Hornets poor shooting efficiency and bad body language as part of the bigger concern, and the issues have only been magnified by injuries to Kon Knueppel and Brandon Millers uneven play relative to his contract. For a team already trying to prove it can build around LaMelo Ball, the early slide makes every decision feel heavier, especially when the offense is this stagnant and the margin for error is already shrinking. [Read more 🡒]