Former FSU Basketball Guard to Take Over Charlotte Hornets

The former Seminole is the youngest lead executive in the NBA.

Former Florida State guard Jeff Peterson will become the next head of basketball operations for the Charlotte Hornets, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Peterson had been with the Brooklyn Nets as their Assistant General Manager since 2019, and with the Atlanta Hawks from 2013-2019, quickly rising through the ranks from scout, to basketball operations coordinator, to director of scouting, and then assistant general manager. At 35 years old, he becomes the youngest lead executive in the NBA. 

ESPN Sources: The Charlotte Hornets are planning to hire Brooklyn Nets executive Jeff Peterson as the franchise’s next head of basketball operations. Sides expect to reach a formal contractual agreement soon. pic.twitter.com/uGwstjDiH3

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 29, 2024

Peterson started his career at Iowa and Arkansas but transferred to Florida State as a redshirt senior in 2011-12, where he would appear in 34 games for an average of 15.7 minutes per game, putting up 3.1 PPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.6 RPG. FSU would go on to win their first ACC Tournament Championship that season. Peterson appeared in both the semifinals against Duke and the championship against UNC, combining for 15 minutes played. He had scored a season-high 9 points against UCF in the second game of the season and dished out a season-high 7 assists against Stetson. 

Despite spending just one season in Tallahassee, Peterson credits his start in the NBA to Leonard Hamilton. In an interview for NBA.com back in 2019, Peterson was asked about when his aspirations started for a basketball career off-court, he responded "Not until after I graduated from Florida State. I had aspirations to play at the professional level, and I could have played overseas at lower levels. The opportunity came up with the Atlanta Hawks to be an intern, a seasonal assistant. Coach (Leonard) Hamilton from Florida State encouraged me to take a look at it. I prayed and it felt like that was the best route to go."

It certainly has been the best route for Peterson, becoming a head of basketball operations after just 12 years in various front-office roles. He'll have the opportunity to help turn around a Hornets organization that has been towards the bottom of the Eastern Conference for the last few years. They do have some young talent, as LaMelo Ball has already made an All-Star game in his short career, and Brandon Miller, who the Hornets selected 2nd overall in the most recent draft, has been exceptional and would be in consideration for Rookie of the Year in any season that doesn't have Victor Wembenyama and Chet Holmgren to compete with. 

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