New Hornets VP Jeff Peterson dreams big: ‘I want to turn this into the premier franchise’

The Hornets have drowned at the bottom of the league standings pretty much during the past decade, and no one has been able to rebuild this franchise yet. Not only does Charlotte possess the longest-playoff drought in the NBA, but it’s been difficult for them to lure star power through a convincing long-term vision from the organization. 

The North Carolina front office expects these issues to disappear with their latest move, as Jeff Peterson has just been appointed as the new Vice President of Basketball Operations. The former Nets executive hopes to put this 9-year streak to an end, and finally return to a respectable position in the league.

“You guys are going to get sick of me saying this, but we are going to turn this into the premier franchise in the NBA,” the 35-year-old said during his introductory press conference. “And there was no hesitation in terms of how we were going to do it. It may take a process, we’re not going to skip steps. I think that’s what helped is that we were completely in alignment.”

Appreciate Hornets VP of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson taking the time to speak with me about joining the Charlotte Hornets front office, his vision for turning the team into the premiere franchise of the NBA & more!@HornetsPR | @hornets | #LetsFly35 | #NBA pic.twitter.com/RL6ccLoRb4

— Ashley Stroehlein (@ashstro) March 6, 2024

If there’s one thing for sure, is that the team possesses interesting prospects for the future, as LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges and Mark Williams all hope to lead this squad to greatness. One of the biggest challenges moving forward will be keeping the young core healthy and motivated, as well as extend Bridges during the summer.

About rebuilding the roster, Peterson feels no pressure.”I don’t think it’s fair to necessarily put a timeline on it. As I’ve said, when the three of us sat down and realized that this was the best direction that we were going to go, it’s not fair to skip steps,” he said.

The new VP is also aware that they possess the fifth-best cap situation in the league and are also expecting another lottery pick during the offseason.

“We want it to happen organically. Now I will say, all three of us are very competitive, so we’re going to try and find ways to expedite that without jeopardizing our future in any fashion. As Rick and Gabe touched on, character is number one priority in this organization and we’re going to continue to build around that,” Jeff explained.

Charlotte’s owners shared why they decided to hire Peterson for the job of transforming the franchise for good

Both Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin, who serve as the Hornets’ Co-Chairmen, announced the big news at the start of the week. This role as Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations was given to Peterson with the hopes of leading the team’s day-to-day situations, as well as establishing a long-term vision.

“We’re excited to have Jeff join the Charlotte Hornets as the new leader of our basketball operations,” the executives said. “He shares our vision, our values and our goal of becoming the premier franchise in the NBA. Jeff is a rising star in our league who is known for his player evaluation, his communication skills and his ability to develop strong relationships.”

The 35-year-old has inked his contract in Charlotte after working four-plus seasons as the Brooklyn Nets’ assistant general manager. During his time in New York, he played an important role in negotiating many star player acquisitions, just as he did with Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, James Harden, and most recently Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Charlotte Hornets and I’m excited to get started,” Peterson expressed. “I want to thank Rick and Gabe for this opportunity and entrusting me with this team. I believe in their vision of building the premier franchise in Charlotte. Establishing a winning culture will take hard work.”