Report: Michael Jordan Declined Offer Of 4 1st-Round Picks From Celtics So Hornets Could Take Frank Kaminsky
(CBS) For all his on-court basketball brilliance, Michael Jordan has never sniffed close to the same type of success as a personnel evaluator in his post-playing career.
Now the man who once brought the Washington Wizards the not-so-immortal Kwame Brown with the first overall pick has added another puzzling line to his basketball operations resume.
In June's NBA Draft, Jordan -- using his power as owner of the Charlotte Hornets -- turned down the Celtics' offer of four first-round picks to move up to the Hornets' No. 9 spot, Grantland's Zach Lowe reported. Boston's desire was to draft Duke forward Justice Winslow -- who went a few picks later to Miami -- but Jordan was dead set on Charlotte using the pick to draft Wisconsin big man Frank Kaminsky.
Making Jordan's decision especially puzzling is that the Celtics were willing to include an unprotected future pick from the Nets, Lowe reported. Brooklyn has a bleak future, meaning the selection could turn into a top-10 pick -- or even better. Boston also was offering the No. 15 and No. 16 picks in the current draft and a future first-rounder from the Grizzlies or Timberwolves.
From Lowe:
Some members of Charlotte's front office liked the Boston deal, but Michael Jordan, the team's owner and ultimate decision-maker, preferred Kaminsky to a pile of first-rounders outside the lottery, per several sources. That's justifiable, if you think your guy at no. 9 has a chance at stardom. The talent gap between no. 9 and no. 15 is real; ask Boston how it felt to squeeze into the playoffs, get demolished by a Cavs team in chill mode, and watch Justise Winslow fall right where it could have picked had it won three fewer games.
But Kaminsky is not a star, and the players Charlotte could have grabbed with those four picks will almost certainly produce more combined over their careers than Kaminsky. And the Hornets know they cannot afford to screw up the draft.