As the trade deadline quickly approaches, the Charlotte Hornets are reportedly eyeing making a change at the general-manager position, reports Yahoo’s Chris Mannix:
The Hornets continue to field calls on Kemba Walker, but no Walker deal gets done unless a team absorbs one of the handful of bad contracts on Charlotte’s roster, sources said. Another variable at play: The future of GM Rich Cho. Cho is in the final year of his contract and there have been rumblings that former Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak is a favorite among high-ranking team officials to take over next summer. If Hornets owner Michael Jordan is resolved to replace Cho, he may not sign off on dealing Charlotte’s most appealing asset.
Prior to his time with the Hornets, Cho served as assistant general manager to the Oklahoma City Thunder and then general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Cho, the first Asian-American general manager in NBA history, has been the Hornets’ GM since 2011.
Kupchak, a former NBA player, was the Lakers’ GM from 2000 until he was fired and replaced with Magic Johnson in 2017.
Johnson was fined $50,000 on Tuesday for comments made about Giannis Antetokounmpo.
