Not a hair was ruffled in many NBA offices when the inevitable shoe dropped early on Monday morning and word spread that the Charlotte Hornets were going to make a change in the front office, with Mitch Kupchak moving into an advising role.
Kupchak’s time as the Hornets’ primary decision-maker was running out, according to many league sources who spoke with the Observer for weeks—dating back to the summer. Talk intensified in the days before the trade deadline, with insiders speculating that after the initial round of roster shuffles was finished, Kupchak would no longer be in charge.
The final piece of that puzzle was the Hornets’ formal purchase of Kyle Lowry on Sunday. With him gone, they can now begin interviewing potential successors to Kupchak, someone who can lead the team into yet another crucial summer. In addition, the Hornets general manager position is highly sought after, despite Charlotte’s tremendous struggles to field a consistently successful team and their worst postseason drought. One senior league executive told the Observer on Monday night, “As long as the owners let the people they hire do the work and not overstep,” the league is a sleeping giant.
