Hornets unlikely to bring back Rich Cho as general manager The Charlotte Hornets are unlikely to bring back general manager Rich Cho on a new contract next season, league sources told ESPN. Hornets owner Michael Jordan is expected to pursue former Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak to partner in the front office with assistant GM Buzz Peterson, essentially replacing Cho, league sources said. Cho joined Charlotte as GM in 2011. He was dismissed in less than a year after his hiring as Portland GM in 2010. Peterson is a former roommate of Jordan's at the University of North Carolina, and Kupchak is a former All-American at UNC.
Cho worked for Sam Presti at OKC before going to Portland, where he was cut quickly because he conflicted with Brandon Roy. I won't bother rehashing details. Since joining Charlotte, he hasn't done much at all. MJ is probably the real GM of that team.
I’m not sure cho has gotten a real chance. He seems to be a pretty smart and analytical guy. He just seemed like such a bad fit with Jordan who seems very “old school”. I imagine kuphak will be a better fit with Jordan but not really better overall either.
Agreed. He was poised to trade Kemba Walker and Jordan told him, "Not unless you get an All-Star in return." Well that's not how the NBA works anymore. They'd have done better at this point to get a couple second rounders for him than to extend him to a massive contract OR lose him for nothing. And I really think they could have gotten something like a 1st rounder and a young prospect. Rich Cho didn't stand a chance. I hope he gets a chance somewhere else.
Jordan is the worst operational owner in the NBA. At least others are openly tanking and trying to get somewhere. Jordan has been treading water for a decade with no plan or direction. Adam Silver should consider taking over management control of the Hornets and let Jordan do important owner duties like sitting on his fat ass and smoke cigars in his luxury suite.
The worst? probably not. I can name a few worse owners off the top of my head. I do think he's top 5. -Ron Sarver -James Dolan -Vivek Ranadive (not the majority owner but the NBA requires a sole chairman) -Dan Gilbert -MJ
It's really not difficult. You need to rebuild? You need to build a smart organization constantly looking for an edge? HIRE SAM HINKIE!
Honestly, if Hinkie were hired by a Charlotte or an Orlando instead of a Philadelphia I think he would still be in the league. Its one thing if a team like that tanks, but having the 5th largest media market be represented by a 10 win team probably didn't please the league office. The complete refusal to sign any veteran players didn't please the NBAPA either, because the players unions act in the interest of those whom run it, 30-somthings looking for their last big contract.
Hinkle has the benefit of foresight now too so he's poised to pull off something similar without making big mistakes. Jordan strikes me as the type who's too involved as an owner. I always liked Leslie Alexander for being involved enough that he kept high expectations (unlike a guy like James Dolan) while not being too hamhanded
Why pay someone millions of dollars to tank. You can just hire some random person to do that. Of the Hinke era the only draft pick he might have hit is embiid and that was pretty much a no brainier after Wiggins and Parker. And who knows if Embiid will stay healthy. If you are going to tank at least hit your picks.
Yeah, there seem to be three archetypes of bad owners. 1. Invasive, Intrusive, and Incompetent: Vivek, MJ, Al Davis' senile years, Jerry Jones as GM, Jed York,...etc. Guys who see their organization a real live Madden/2k/The Show/NHL video games and think that they are qualified to run the day-to-day operations. They can be seen across all sizes of media markets. 2. Total cheap-asses/financially irresponsible: Bennett, Sarver, Sherman and Jeter. They seek to cut costs as much as possible to either make profit by being a leech on the rest of the league, or they lacked the capital to buy the team with cash and are riddled with debt and can't actually afford to pay for a competitive team. They tend to own smaller market teams because they couldn't afford a real team. 3. Overly Laissez-Faire/no accountability: James Dolan, Geoff Molson (montreal canadiens), Whoever owned the Maple Leafs for most of the last 50 years, Woody Johnson (NY Jets), Don "Sterling" Leibowitz. These types of owners simply make money off of a large media market and brand recognition. They are typically the richest of the owners and the money they could make by fostering a winning team means little to them. They typically make constant disaster hires in coaching and in the front office, and the mistakes are only removed long after they have done their damage. As you can imagine, these owners tend to run the big market teams into the ground, because they can make more money than anyone else can while at the basement.
You're making a big mistake to think Sam Hinkie does nothing but "tank". He's essentially responsible for their entire core, minus Redick (who is on a one-year deal).
At the very least he wouldn't have made the Fultz trade, which at best will be a lateral move (sixers keep the lakers pick, Fultz becomes good, still have to give up your 2019 first), and at worst a complete disaster (Fultz busts, Celtics get free #2-#5 pick)
But the pick they had at #3 in the first place was ALL Hinkie. A brilliant move. http://www.businessinsider.com/sixers-trade-stauskas-picks-kings-deal-2015-7
