Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak didn’t think the team had much of a chance at landing Gordon Hayward in free agency last offseason, Chris Sheridan of Basketball News reports.
While the team had the means to create enough cap room for Hayward, the Hornets were surprised that he opted out of his contract with Boston, let alone wanted to go to Charlotte. Hayward signed a four-year, $120MM contract and officially came to Charlotte via a sign-and-trade.
“I didn’t think he would opt out of that and want to leave Boston,” Kupchak said. “That doesn’t happen very often so when that was happening, even at the very end, even though we tried and we did everything we could do — and it was a good feeling that he was going to come to Charlotte — there was a big part of me that said, ‘This just doesn’t happen very often, that a player of this caliber will go to a small market.’ So I wasn’t really sure until we got his signature that he was going to come… That just kind of happened.”
A similar scenario unfolded a year earlier when the Hornets agreed with Terry Rozier on a three-year, $58MM contract and worked out a sign-and-trade with the Celtics after Kemba Walker chose Boston in free agency.
Kupchak has taken heat for overpaying for Hayward and Rozier, but he shrugs it off.
“It’s kind of hard to shake me up, you know? There might have been some criticism; I didn’t follow it that closely at the time,” Kupchak said. “But you’ve got to weigh everything: the draft, free-agent signings, trades. You really have to wait four or five years to look back on it and that’s when you know really whether you made a mistake or you didn’t make a mistake.”
Hayward was enjoying an All-Star level season (19.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 4.1 APG) before suffering a foot injury in early April. Rozier is averaging 20.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 4.1 APG this season.
Wouldn’t that have been one year earlier?
Say what you want, but Kupchak did a much better job than hyped up Ainge the last two years. Kemba is a mess, Hayward and Horford left for nothing. Charlotte at the same time got Rozier on a great contract, Lamelo and other young guys look like a great foundation for future. Barrego is a very good coach
Mitch was in a horrible predicament in his later Laker Days …… cut loose the most beloved iconic La star maybe (ever) in Kobe or pay him, stunt a solid rebuild effort, and still be bad….. He was never gonna win …… Love this current Cha team, their announcers might be the most exciting in the NBA as well as a Bonus
Haha, I can’t stand how their play-by-play announcer screams constantly.
I kinda like it, fits the theme for them this year
They seem to play best down 8 with 9 mins left, lotta fun comebacks this year
I could see it being annoying in sub-par Cha seasons of the past; but I Imagine they are just pumped at the early success and it results in a raised audible level
@Cap & Crunch not to mention the Buss family pushed for that Kobe extension then, name fitting, threw Mitch under the bus. He also got flack for not being as dirty as other execs when it came to pushing and bending the rules in free agency. That’s why Magic and Pelinka were brought in, especially with their love for tampering.
Lol nobody was offering 160m 4yrs nothing lucky about that sucker’s,as for the Lakers magic and Rob we’re brought in to clean house after dumb moves nash trade two 1st,and two 2nd round picks 3yr 30m played 50 some games don’t forget Mozgof and dang stupid contracts magic gave away D’Angelo Russell just to take Mozgof 4yr 64m contract and amnesty dang 4yr 72m worthless
It’s wild how Steph Curry’s dad is now an elite commentator too, the whole family elite at everything they do…
@Burner Ainge has really coasted off that Celtics title and the Nets trade. While other teams were tanking or rebuilding, however you want to word it, at the same time the Celtics had a big head start and you can argue did worse than the Sixers, Nuggets, Jazz, Bucks, and even the Nets. He missed on a ton of draft picks and while he did hit with Brown and Tatum, just remember that if the Hornets accepted their 6 pick including 4 first rounder pick offer so they could draft Winslow they might not have had either.
Now the reputation, besides being a GM who might trade his mother for a couple second rounders with how he ships out his star players, is that teams are frustrated in trade negotiations with the Celtics. They play these games where they ask about a player, but are always noncommittal on anything and never give a real offer. This allows them to say they were calling on everyone and trying to get players while at the same time saying any rumor about interest or a trade offer is untrue. You can’t do business with people who you can’t ever really work with. They have this smartest guy in the room issue that if they want to take the next steps in the east they needs to change their process. If the only time you will ever accept a trade is if it is a Nets package or a Sixers draft package you won’t get much done.
Mitch kupchak has to sign whoever he can get with the big-name free agents. If a guy like Gordon Hayward wants to come, you have to grab him because guys like that are few and far between for the Hornets. You even have to likely overpay.
Also, Kupchak sounds like many of the stockbrokers I talk to. “You have to invest for the long-term. Don’t judge me or this by the first 6 months. You have to wait for a few years.” That’s a bunch of crap. Saying everything will work out in the end over time is such a “load” (no pun intended.)
If you draft well (invest well) the players (the stock) will perform pretty quick and you don’t have to wait 5 years to reap benefits.
Yes a building a team takes time. But if you draft lamelo ball he’s going to be good his first or second year. If you draft Adam Morrison or Frank Kaminsky or bismack biyombo and they’re not good the first or second year or showing potential, then your draft skills suck.
Which makes GSW going with the long-term project in Wiseman over the good-now Lamelo even more egregious – imagine Lamelo playing all Bazemore’s minutes this year? Sickening. Top 4 team, easily. God do GSW’s front office suck.
Free agency should be a way to supplement you’re existing roster unless you pull the once in every 5 year superstar in free agency. This team just needs to draft better. They’ve been consistently in the top 8 and haven’t gotten a pick right (aside from this year) in the teams history. Get more LaMelo Ball type players and less Kaminsky/MKG/Monk/Zellar picks
Lamelo was gifted to the Hornets by GSW’s current stupid front office, don’t forget.
Rozier is one of my fave (also underrated) players in the league, who definitely deserved that deal.
Let’s face it. Being injured and playing for Boston is not easy. Press is all over you, expectations are high, etc.
Enter Hayward looking for someone silly enough to pay him huge dollars while there’s no pressure while being injured. Low expectations.
Enter. Mitch Kupchak.
Great points Padam.. big bucks and no pressure. What’s not to like?
My 2 cents: if you’re in a leadership role don’t use the word “surprised”. I get the context, but it makes it sound like you just got lucky, which can happen to anybody…