Kevin Ollie backs Jeff Peterson's upcoming campaign as Hornets’ newest top executive: “Super-excited for his opportunity”

Jeff will bring his wonders from Brooklyn to Charlotte

Peterson joined Sean Marks' basketball operations group in 2019. Since then, he has not only blossomed into one of the rising basketball minds in the business but also aided the franchise’s growth and emergence in his four-and-a-half seasons as an assistant general manager.

As Marks’ right-hand man, he played an important role in the team's superteam formation of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. Peterson is also widely credited with discovering and drafting both Cam Thomas and Nic Claxton, who are now the franchise's important centerpieces of their future.

“He is not afraid to get a little dirty,” Marks said of Peterson in a 2022 interview with The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov. “Just because you’re the assistant GM doesn’t mean you can’t do some of the other tasks, and I think for what we do here, we’re responsible for everything. Titles don’t mean anything. So it doesn’t matter who has a great idea, whether it’s a draft pick, a free agent, or whatever or trade, and Jeff is somebody who’s a great listener.

“I think that certainly helps, you know, if you have a leader that listens to people, and I think that he does that really well. I think that that’s why his peers look up to him.”