Even before the Hornets informed general manager Rich Cho that his contract wouldn’t be renewed, there were rumblings around the NBA about the possibility of Mitch Kupchak joining Charlotte’s front office as the new head of basketball operations.
Kupchak has a long-standing relationship with fellow UNC alum Michael Jordan, and has multiple championships on his résumé as the Lakers’ top decision-maker. While Kupchak made some high-profile missteps near the end of his tenure in Los Angeles – including mega-deals for Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov – it made sense that he was being considered for the Hornets’ job.
However, it appears Kupchak is not a lock for that opening. A report from Marc Stein of The New York Times suggests that Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas is emerging as a serious GM candidate for the Hornets, and the team is also reportedly interviewing Sixers VP of player personnel Marc Eversley and Heat assistant GM Adam Simon.
Rosas, Eversley, and Simon don’t have previous general manager experience like Kupchak, with the exception of a brief stint in Dallas for Rosas, who had the title of GM but wasn’t in control over personnel decisions. However, all three men have held key roles alongside veteran executives over the past couple decades.
Rosas has been a key advisor for Daryl Morey in Houston, Eversley has worked extensively for Bryan Colangelo in Toronto and Philadelphia, and Simon has more than two decades of experience in the Miami front office under Pat Riley. While they haven’t run a basketball operations department before, all three execs are seasoned veterans, having logged significant time in respected organizations around the NBA.
With their star player (Kemba Walker) headed for unrestricted free agency in 2019 and a plethora of expensive, undesirable contracts on their cap, the Hornets aren’t in an ideal rebuilding situation, so the new GM will face a challenge in attempting to turn the club into a contender. What type of candidate do you think the Hornets should be targeting for that role?
Is hiring a veteran with extensive GM experience like Kupchak the way to go? Should Charlotte instead be targeting a seasoned executive who hasn’t yet had a chance to call the shots in a front office, like Rosas, Eversley, or Simon? Or is there another direction you think the Hornets should be taking their search?
Jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts!
Kupchak is the same guy who signed Deng and Mozgov, traded for Steve Nash, couldn’t lure any top FAs to LA, picked D-Lo over Kristaps… should I keep going or is that enough?
Don’t forget adding Dwight Howard into Mike D’Antoni’s system. Pure genius.
Can we please just hire Sam Hinkie?
Sashi Brown
@edawg – New Hornet colors: bright orange/ bright orange!
The stated reason for firing Cho was that he was not modern enough. That would point to Rosas (via Morey).