Michael Jordan: ‘We Need to Challenge LeBron’ (VIDEO)

Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan expects free agent signee Lance Stephenson to mature on the court this season, but he doesn’t want him to let up on the likes of LeBron James.

Jordan knows full well that the road to the NBA Finals runs through Cleveland, and wishes for his team to accept the challenge.

MJ says he dreams of winning a seventh championship, and that it would mean more to him than the ones he accumulated as a player.

Per ESPN:

“I’m always dreaming about that seventh ring,” Jordan said. “And to get to that would be much more gratifying” than the previous six he won with the Chicago Bulls.

 

“I played this game for a long time and I always took criticism in a way that’s going to make me better as a basketball player and I could affect the game per se,” Jordan said. “Here, I can’t do that other than talking to my other employees or coaches or players.”

 

With the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers selling for $550 million and $2 billion, respectively, Jordan’s investment — in March 2010, Jordan agreed to buy 80 percent of the team from Bob Johnson on a valuation of about $275 million. Jordan’s stake — as arranged in the original deal — jumped up to 89 percent in 2013 — has almost tripled. […] “That wasn’t my reason for getting in,” Jordan said. “The reason for getting in was because I love basketball. Bob presented an opportunity to me which I’m very thankful of and a dream of mine to own a basketball team. I understood the city of Charlotte and the state of North Carolina is basketball country. I felt like I could contribute and make a difference within this franchise from an ownership standpoint … That was my purpose for buying.”