Hornets president Mitch Kupchak stepping down to 'organizational advisor'
Charlotte Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak is stepping down from his job and into a role as an "organizational advisor," ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday morning.
“Mitch’s success as an NBA executive speaks for itself and we thank Mitch for all his work during his six years leading our basketball operations,” Hornets co-Chairmen Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin said in a statement.
"As Mitch nears the end of his contract, we agreed that now was the right time to begin the search in order to put the organization in the best position for the upcoming offseason. We’re excited to begin the hiring process for our new head of basketball operations as we continue to shape this franchise and work towards building a team for long-term sustainable success," the new Hornets majority owners added.
Since taking the job at the end of the 2017-18 season, Kupchak's teams are just 177-260 with two lopsided losses in the NBA play-in game as his team's best "achievements."
Charlotte is a dismal 11-41 this year, but the organization's decisions at the trade deadline should have fans optimistic about the future.
They moved veterans Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward and PJ Washington for a haul of picks and players in a series of moves that impressed Kupchak.
In total Charlotte brought in Tre Mann, Davis Bertans and Vasilije Micic along with Charlotte-natives Seth Curry and Grant Williams and four total draft selections.
"Every owner I've been with has had some good stuff, so I'm not saying one is better than another, but this was great. You could feel the energy and the passion they both have for this organization to make this team better," Kupchak said.
The new additions made the Schnall and Plotkin look smart in their first appearances for the Hornets.
Mann slid right into the starting lineup, scoring nine points and adding nine assists, while Williams and Bertans contributed 15 and nine points respectively off the bench.
But the performance of the night came from little-known guard Micic, who poured in 18 points and tallied nine assists of his own as the Hornets beat Memphis on Saturday.
Barring a miraculous final stretch of the season, the Hornets will miss the playoffs for the eighth-consecutive time.
But thanks to the promising young guard combination of LaMelo Ball and rookie Brandon Miller combined with the apparent basketball savvy of new ownership, success-starved Hornets fans finally have reason to hope.
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