Michael Jordan made huge news on Friday morning by selling his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets. Although the organization did not have much success on the court during Jordan's tenure as the owner, the Chicago Bulls legend will be walking away with fat pockets. He made 10x on his original investment in the franchise, so the lack of wins won't be too much of a regret for Michael Jordan. The new ownership group is led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, two businessmen who are your typical run-of-the-mill investors. If these two want to come and endear their ownership group to the Hornets and the city of Charlotte, there are two moves in particular that they need to make. These moves would result in Zion Williamson and Zach LaVine being a member of the Charlotte Hornets.

Zion Williamson has been embroiled in NBA trade rumors ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft, and the Hornets have been involved in that speculation. Zach LaVine has been less involved in trade discussions, but it is clear that the Bulls are currently directionless and they should remodel their franchise by dealing LaVine. Either way, this new ownership group for the Hornets cannot continue the trends from the Michael Jordan era. The Hornets were simply not a winner under Jordan, so something has to change under new leadership. All indications are that the organizational structure and continuity with the city of Charlotte improved under Michael Jordan, but that all goes by the wayside since they didn't win basketball games. In order for this new ownership group to usher in a winning era of basketball, they need to start by trading for Zion Williamson and Zach LaVine.

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Trade for Zion Williamson

It seems like it might be a given that the New Orleans Pelicans are going to trade Zion Williamson. Before the rumors even surfaced that the Pelicans were considering dealing Zion, he was not on a good foot with the organization and fanbase because of another lost season due to injury. Then Zion found himself involved in a troubling NSFW controversy after the announcement of his expected newborn, which was immediately followed by the Pelicans rumored interest in Scoot Henderson. This interest in arguably the top point guard in the 2023 NBA Draft led rumors to surface that the Pelicans would consider moving on from Zion Williamson in order to land Scoot Henderson. If the rumors are true, then the Hornets need to capitalize and go acquire Zion Williamson.

It is obvious that there are things that Zion Williamson needs to fix off of the court in order to prioritize becoming the best basketball player he can be. It is also clear that him being able to do that with the New Orleans Pelicans might not be possible anymore; still, Zion Williamson was drafted No. 1 overall for a reason and he has been absolutely dominant when he has stayed healthy. He still figures to turn into one of the top players in the NBA, if not already being so, and the Hornets could be the perfect reset for the young star. It would take quite the haul of assets to acquire Zion Williamson, but it would give the new ownership group a cornerstone for a new era of the Hornets franchise. It would be great for all parties, as the new owners would establish themselves while Zion Williamson would have the ability to reinvigorate his career and get his mind right.

Trade for Zach LaVine

The Chicago Bulls management has been vocal that they have no plans of a rebuild and want to continue aiming to be a contender. However, there is one key problem with this sentiment: they are far from being a contender with the current roster. Zach LaVine is the top player on the Bulls, but he is not a number one option on a championship team. The Bulls would need to bring in a superstar and have LaVine play second fiddle, and that just doesn't look like a possibility for them right now. Once the Bulls decide to bite the bullet, which is an inevitability at this point, they should trade Zach LaVine for a plethora of assets and initiate a rebuild. Alongside Zion Williamson, Zach LaVine would be the perfect target for the Charlotte Hornets.

Zach LaVine is an elite scorer in the NBA but he doesn't possess the overall skillset that makes him a superstar in the NBA. However, his scoring is the perfect supplement to a team with a star like Zion Williamson, who truly is the entire package. LaVine would not have to be relied upon to be the number one option on either end, as Zion would require the most attention from opposing teams on both offense and defense. Pairing Zach LaVine and Zion Williamson would suggest to the Charlotte Hornets fanbase that this new ownership group means business and they want to build a winning organization. Trading for these two stars would be huge moves that would make the Hornets serious contenders.