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All of this context currently surrounds North Carolina, where the Tar Heels are mired in a season of mediocrity while advancing through a GM search, sources told The Stein Line. In football, of course, North Carolina just made an almighty splash by hiring Bill Belichick as its head coach with GM Mike Lombardi in tow. Now NBA names, not surprisingly, have been connected to the basketball gig. UNC is a school known to value its alumni, spawning the expectation that the Tar Heels will ultimately hire a general manager who bleeds the school's powder blue blood. Mitch Kupchak, most recently the Charlotte Hornets' lead executive and once ACC Player of the Year as a Tar Heel, is known to be advising the process.
That’s why Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak held regular meetings about the post-Kobe Bryant Lakers. Especially: Kupchak met secretly and regularly at the Polo Lounge in Beverly Hills with Dwight Howard’s agent Dan Fegan, who died in 2018. Fegan told me several times about those meetings. One topic: which coach might make Kobe more of a team player. Fegan advocated Phil Jackson. Failing that, he recommended ways the Lakers use the amnesty clause to jettison the biggest contract in the NBA. If the Lakers amnestied Kobe, Fegan believed, there were many paths to pairing Howard with another star and returning quickly to contention. For a time, it seemed to Fegan that Kupchak and Jim Buss, who made the big Laker decisions at the time, were leaning that way.
Mark Cuban says he almost acquired Kobe Bryant in 2007 for Jason Terry, Josh Howard and picks
Mark Cuban: "You know how close we were to trading for Kobe in 2007. Oh my God, it was like literally this close. I talked to Jerry Buss and worked something out. Kobe wanted to leave. Jerry said, 'if you want to leave, we'll take care of it.' We were going to trade Josh Howard, Jason Terry, and picks, but no Dirk. I said, ‘Anyone but Dirk.’ Kobe wanted it, and Jerry was willing to do it, but Mitch Kupchak talked Jerry out of it. It was going to happen. I remember telling this dude,’ I’m like, ‘Kobe’s going to be a Mav,’ and I thought it was done. But Mitch Kupchack stepped in, and that’s how it fell apart. The rest is history."
Evan Turner: Free agency comes around on July 1st, and my phone didn’t ring. Then in August, Mitch Kupchak called me, and he’s like, 'What do you do?' I’m like, 'I guess I dribble, I attack, I shoot—what do you mean?' [Because] that’s what Kobe does. So I’m sitting there like, 'Don’t call me asking me dumb questions like that.' With all due respect, Mitch, I’m not saying I’m the best, but y'all had been losing for the past three years, and I was averaging 25 points. You offer me a quarter million? I could get that off the block. Honestly, I’m never like that, but at the same time, for a quarter million, I might as well get it off the block. That’s how I ignorantly felt at the time.
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DeMarcus Cousins on Kobe Bryant when he reach out about his injury: It was dope man, it's Bean at the end of the day bro. So if you’re even on his radar bro you doing something right, like straight up. Even before the injury me and Kobe were in contact at the time where I was supposed to be traded to the Lakers. I think this was, I want to say 2014 or 2015, it might have been ’15 but I was supposed to get traded to the Lakers. The deal ended up not happening and they ended up firing Mitch Kupchak that summer.
While discussing the impact of the draft switching from one to two days, Givony made a startling revelation about James Nnaji who the Hornets traded up and selected 31st last year. “We've seen guys get taken by teams against their will at the same time. James Nnaji is an example of that last year. He had a good spot later in the second round. Mitch Kupchak was like 'Sorry, I like you James Nnaji, I'm taking you and I'm stashing you in Europe'. That's just like the biggest bummer of all time if you're James Nnaji.”
StatMuse: Franz Wagner today: 34 PTS, 13 REB, 0 TOV, 13-17 FG, +32. The youngest player since Mitch Kupchak with a 30/10 playoff game on 75+ FG%. statmuse.com/nba/player/fra…
Peterson, 35, is completing a meteoric rise to oversee the Hornets' front office and become tasked with revitalizing one of the league's traditionally underperforming franchises. New owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin chose Peterson to replace Mitch Kupchak, who is moving from general manager into an advisory role with the Hornets. Charlotte's ownership is convinced of Peterson's ability to be a long-term leader for the organization and deliver it the kind of player personnel acumen, relationships and deal-making ability with rival executives, player agents and players necessary to transform the Hornets into a formidable franchise.
One of the most frequent questions circulating leaguewide at the moment: Who is taking over Charlotte's basketball operations after the recent announcement from longtime executive Mitch Kupchak that he’s stepping down? League sources say Brooklyn's Jeff Peterson, New Orleans' Trajan Langdon and Minnesota's Matt Lloyd are three prime names to watch as the Hornets close in on a new lead executive to run their front office. The Nets are said to have strong interest in trying to keep Peterson as a top aide to Sean Marks … potentially with a new title, raise, etc. Langdon has been a candidate for lead decision-maker jobs previously. Lloyd was one of Tim Connelly's first hires when Connelly started assembling his front office in Minnesota. Peterson, of course, worked previously with one of the Hornets’ new co-owners (Rick Schnall) in Atlanta.
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Trajan Langdon, Elton Brand considered front-runners to replace Mitch Kupchak in Charlotte
Per a source, the Hornets prefer a lead executive with previous experience and the early expectation is for the organization to hire a president as well as a general manager. The Observer has also learned New Orleans Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon and Philadelphia 76ers GM Elton Brand — who are no strangers to the Carolinas — are considered the early front-runners to replace Mitch Kupchak.
Hornets President of Basketball Operations Mitch Kupchak stepping down
Adrian Wojnarowski: ESPN Sources: Charlotte Hornets President of Basketball Operations Mitch Kupchak is stepping down to become an organizational advisor, clearing way for franchise to begin an immediate search for a new head of basketball operations. pic.twitter.com/Vh2p0AudFh
The reason for Kupchak's presence was to follow the progress of the Barça center James Nnaji, chosen with the No. 31 pick in the last NBA draft, although his rights were traded that same night to the Hornets. In fact, when asked about it after the game, Nnaji himself acknowledged that he was aware of the American executive's presence in the stands of Palau: "Yes, yes, I knew. We are in touch. We will take advantage of his stay in Barcelona to meet and talk a bit. I am happy and proud that (Kupchak) has come here to see me. It's a motivation."
Rod Boone: One nugget from Mitch Kupchak: He's over in Barcelona with Buzz Peterson. They are meeting with James Nnaji and plan to have dinner. Guessing they are seeing how he's developed and when he'll be ready to come to this side of the pond.
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