Former Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak was one of the longest tenured executives in the NBA before the team decided to let him go last year. Since that time not much has been heard from Kupchak about his next potential move.
Kupchak first transitioned to the Lakers’ front office in 1987 as the assistant general manager, officially becoming the team’s general manager in 2000. Now it looks as if Kupchak could be heading east to Charlotte.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hornets are targeting Kupchak to replace former general manager Rich Cho, whose contract was not renewed:
After declining to offer general manager Rich Cho a new contract, Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan is planning to target former Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak for a high-ranking role in the organization, league sources told ESPN.
Jordan is planning to continue grooming assistant GM Buzz Peterson as a foundation of Charlotte’s front office, and Kupchak is a primary target to partner with Peterson, league sources told ESPN.
This move would give the Hornets a North Carolina-centric front office as owner Michael Jordan is a former Tar Heel, as is Peterson, whom the Hornets are still high on as Wojnarowski pointed out.
Kupchak is an ideal person to pair with a young, up-and-coming executive as he has a ton of experience dealing with every kind of situation a general manager can think of. The split between he and the Lakers may not have been the best, but Kupchak is out to prove that he has a lot still left and the Hornets present him a great opportunity to do exactly that.
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