The Charlotte Hornets have been undergoing plenty of transitions as a franchise. In recent years, their ownership has changed hands from Michael Jordan's to Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall's, and general manager Mitch Kupchak moved from his post as general manager to more of an advisory role. Now, the Hornets have found Kupchak's successor that will helm the team's rebuild as we head deeper into the decade.

On Thursday night, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN announced that the Hornets have named Brooklyn Nets executive Jeff Peterson as the team's next head of basketball operations. Peterson, only 35 years old, is now the youngest lead front office executive in NBA history. Per Wojnarowski, the ownership duo of Plotkin and Schnall were impressed with Peterson during the interview process which included 12 candidates for the job.

The Nets brought in Peterson as the team's assistant general manager prior to the 2019-20 season, with general manager Sean Marks expressing his admiration for the young executive's ability to take initiative. Marks also said that Peterson is a great listener, which would then make him a great collaborator as the Hornets continue to build the team around LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.

Jeff Peterson has generated considerable buzz around league circles for his scouting acumen; according to The Athletic, the new Hornets president of basketball operations acted as Marks' “sounding board” for team-wide issues enveloping the Nets.

The Hornets have made a few moves during the trade deadline to improve the team's long-term outlook, bringing in Tre Mann and Grant Williams, along with a few first-round picks, to help stock the team with more talent. Now, Peterson's job is to take the Hornets from the league's basement towards one of the feared contenders in the Eastern Conference moving forward.