Rod Higgins Abruptly Steps Down As President Of Charlotte Hornets

Rod Higgins has resigned as President of Basketball Operations of the Charlotte Hornets, the team announced on Friday. A member of the organization’s front office staff since 2007, Higgins served as General Manager before being promoted to President in 2011. Current General Manager Rich Cho will “assume responsibility for the team’s basketball operations,” the team says.

“I would like to thank Rod for his seven years of dedication to this organization,” said Charlotte owner Michael Jordan in the statement. “Rod has been a consummate professional throughout his time with the team. Thanks to his hard work and commitment, we have an improved roster and we are poised for success in the future. Rod was of great help to me as I navigated my first four years as majority owner of this franchise. I wish him all the best.”

This is a surprising development from multiple perspectives, but its timing immediately raises eyebrows. Not only did Charlotte announce the news after midnight following Game 4 of the NBA Finals, but the NBA Draft is less than two weeks away, too. The Hornets hold the ninth, 24th, and 45th picks in the June 26th draft.

Higgins and Jordan are notoriously close, as well. They were teammates on the Chicago Bulls from 1984-1986 and worked together with the Washington Wizards from 2000-2004 before reuniting in Charlotte two years later.

Coming off their most successful season since 2009, this is a very important offseason for Charlotte. Jordan recently said that he hopes to add a superstar to his team to compliment Al Jefferson. Whether or not Higgins’ resignation will make that task more difficult remains to be seen, but a shakeup of this magnitude is certainly surprising at this stage in the offseason.

What do you think?

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