With a playoff series looking more improbable each day, big front-office changes are coming soon to Charlotte.
Hornets owner Michael Jordan is unlikely to retain general manager Rich Cho beyond this season, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, and Jordan is expected to target former Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak to join current assistant GM Buzz Peterson. Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports previously reported ahead of the trade deadline that there were rumblings around the league about Kupchak joining the Hornets with Cho in the final year of his contract, so this doesn't come as a surprise.
MORE: Biggest winners and losers from All-Star weekend
After a promising 48-34 season in 2015-16, the Hornets missed the playoffs last season and find themselves in a similar position now at 24-33, putting Charlotte at 10th in the Eastern Conference. With the Hornets 5.5 games back of the East's final playoff spot and only 25 games remaining on the schedule, Steve Clifford's team would need to go on a major tear to push into the postseason.
The roster construction has a lot to do with Charlotte's shortcomings. All-Star point guard Kemba Walker has been able to keep the Hornets competitive while he is on the floor, but when he sits, it's an absolute disaster.
| 2017-18 Hornets | Off Rating | Def Rating | Net Rating | Eff FG % |
| Walker On | 108.5 | 104.6 | 3.9 | 51.8 |
| Walker Off | 96.4 | 108.7 | -12.3 | 44.8 |
The Hornets' front office even tossed Walker's name out in trade conversations this past month in the hopes that a bad contract — like Dwight Howard, Nic Batum and/or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist — could be attached to Walker in exchange for a blue-chip prospect or valuable draft pick. Charlotte has a top-15 payroll this season, and Jordan clearly finds it unacceptable to spend more than $117 million on a non-playoff team.
Kupchak found plenty of success over more than three decades with the Lakers, but he was fired in Februrary of 2017 by president Jeanie Buss as Lakers legend Magic Johnson took over basketball operations with Rob Pelinka filling the role of GM. Buss grew frustrated with Los Angeles' inability to land big-name free agents in recent years, but Kupchak could help retool the Hornets with significantly less pressure in a smaller market.
It also doesn't hurt that Kupchak has a North Carolina connection in common with Jordan. Kupchak was an All-American for the Tar Heels and the 1976 ACC Player of the Year. Peterson, who was Jordan's former roommate at UNC, will remain a key decision-maker in basketball matters, per Wojnarowski.
UPDATE: The Hornets have confirmed they will not extend the contract of Cho beyond this season.
"I want to thank Rich for all of his hard work with the Charlotte Hornets organization through the years and wish him and his family the best in the future," Jordan said in a statement released by the team Tuesday. "Rich worked tirelessly on behalf of our team and instituted a number of management tools that have benefited our organization.
"We are deeply committed to our fans and to the city of Charlotte to provide a consistent winner on the court. The search will now begin for our next head of basketball operations who will help us achieve that goal."
To be clear, Rich Cho has been terminated from the position effective immediately. The search for a new GM is under way. Assistant GM Buzz Peterson obviously a strong candidate.
— Steve Reed (@SteveReedAP) February 20, 2018
