Mitch Kupchak Named President and General Manager of Charlotte Hornets

[MillionDollarCam]

It's official!

[bLACKpANTHER]

Mitch easily has the most clout any GM has ever had here in Charlotte.
He should be able to buck back at MJ and not be one of the crony UNC "yes men".

Mitch orchestrated the Lakers/Grizzlies, Pau Gasol trade.. one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history.. also pulled up the Lakers/Chris Paul trade before the league revoked it. HOWEVER, he also was the GM who put the Malone, Payton, Kobe, Shaq team. Also brought Nash into LA and also brought in Dwight Howard. Yeesh!!

[Shocker]

Kupchak has been around the game forever.  Great hire if this happens.  Looking forward to see his vision for this team.

[AppHeel]

Kupchak is a huge upgrade over Rich Cho. Don't think that is a question. Helped win 6 titles in LA as a part of their front office including 3 as the GM. LA and Charlotte are obviously completely different markets to try and win in. While Charlotte doesn't have the resources and appeal that LA has, there is significantly less pressure (compared directly to LA) to win here in Charlotte so you take the good with the bad.

I think most people that are going to be meh about the hire are those that dislike UNC or just don't like that Jordan has the reputation of going out of his way to bring in his guys most of which have the UNC connection. I think a lot of that perception is overblown personally, but that's a conversation for another time. I certainly get the understanding from ppl who feel that way.

Others that might not like Kupchak might have been super high on Rosas from Houston which I understand as well. Either way, Kupchak is a better choice than Cho and he has his work cut out for him.

Wish him the best of luck!!

[Porn Shop Clerk]

People attacking Jordan for cronyism are probably the same ones defending JR and the Hurney rehire.

[Eazy-E]

He's made some fantastic trades in the past. Not mad at all.

[SuperBowlBound]

I'm sorry this move deserves to be criticized. From some people in the know, MJ's ultimate goal with this hire is to groom Buzz Peterson for the GM job down the line.

To me, MJ needs to start talking. He deserves to be criticized. He's a loser as an owner, that's a fact. MJ is great on the business/community side, but he is too prideful to stay out of personnel dealings. MJ is responsible for the Kaminsky pick, he overruled Cho/Clifford for Devin Booker in 2015.

Anyways, this is cronyism. Does Kupchak have the cajones to tell MJ to f-off on draft night when MJ walks in the draft room and orders them to take a dude because MJ watched five minutes of the NCAA Tournament like he did with Kaminksy?

There were better candidates out there in Gersson Rosas and David Griffin. However, those guys have a pair and would tell Jordan to get out of the draft room. That's why Rosas left Dallas after a very brief stint, because Cuban meddled.

I'm sorry, any move MJ makes deserves criticism until it actually works out. He won't speak to the media unless he gets embarrassed as they were when the Kemba trade rumors leaked out. Fans of this team and city deserve much better than what they've been given.

The Chapel Hill Cult that says MJ can do no wrong needs to wake up and smell the coffee. He last played in college 34 years ago, that's history. He owns the Hornets now, that's his business.

[AppHeel]

2 hours ago, SuperBowlBound said:

Anyways, this is cronyism. Does Kupchak have the cajones to tell MJ to f-off on draft night when MJ walks in the draft room and orders them to take a dude because MJ watched five minutes of the NCAA Tournament like he did with Kaminksy?

There were better candidates out there in Gersson Rosas and David Griffin. However, those guys have a pair and would tell Jordan to get out of the draft room. That's why Rosas left Dallas after a very brief stint, because Cuban meddled.

This is obviously the big question. Will Kupchak be able to tell Jordan no? I actually read a Yahoo article yesterday that suggested Kupchak is the best candidate to hire if you want someone to tell Jordan no because they've known each other for so long. Guys like Rosas and Griffin don't know Jordan personally and his allure and cultural influence on the game's history is intimidating to anyone in basketball. I'd find it hard to tell him no I'm sure.

It could go or be spun either way I think, but just a different perspective. But Kupchak not being a yes man because of their past relationship does make sense. We'll see how it plays out.

[BIGH2001]

Anyone is better than Cho.  The man who thought it was a good idea to bring in Miles Plumlee at the trade deadline last season.

[SuperBowlBound]

6 hours ago, BIGH2001 said:

Anyone is better than Cho.  The man who thought it was a good idea to bring in Miles Plumlee at the trade deadline last season.

It really doesn't matter who the GM is as long as Michael Jordan continues to watch five minutes of basketball in March and demands to take the Frank Kaminsky's of the world.

[MillionDollarCam]

Just a bit of an update on where things stand.

Quote

Adrian Wojnarowski: The Charlotte Hornets have made significant progress in contract talks with Mitch Kupchak to become President of Basketball Operations and General Manager, and a formal agreement is expected to be reached soon, league sources told ESPN.

 

Quote

Kupchak will keep assistant GM Buzz Peterson in a front office role, and ultimately add his own personnel changes to the management and scouting structure, league sources said. Jordan and Kupchak have had a long relationship built around their ties to the University of North Carolina and late coach Dean Smith.

 

 

[kmgreensman]

YES! If MJ will let him draft players and stay out of that, we might start to build a solid franchise! 

[MillionDollarCam]

It's official!