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Can the Hornets build momentum with an extreme makeover?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In February, the Charlotte Hornets fired Rich Cho as general manager. In April, head coach Steve Clifford followed Cho out the door. In between, the Hornets finished with an identical losing record of 36 wins and 46 losses, the same as the previous season, and with the same result: no trip to the playoffs.

Not long after that, the new regime traded Dwight Howard, one of its biggest names and second-leading scorer. Along the way, attendance at Hornets home games declined by 5.5%.

Team executives worried immediately after the season about season-ticket renewals, which had steadily increased over several years. Six months later, those same executives are feeling much better as change sweeps through the Hornets organization, all the way down to the hot dogs and sodas sold at the Spectrum Center.

[PHOTO TIMELINE: Charlotte Hornets history]

CBJ's Erik Spanberg takes you inside those changes with this week's cover story.

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