Mitch Kupchak might have to accept that this story, which will be explained below, is his biggest victory in the NBA offseason.
With the NBA free agency period opening up a day earlier than usual on June 30, deals were agreed to far faster than any previous free agency period in history.
It used to sometimes take free agents until mid-July before they were signed, but this offseason, all of the biggest names were off the board within one or two days, leaving only Kawhi Leonard as the biggest unsigned NBA free agent before he opted to sign with the L.A. Clippers.
How are all these deals getting done? The simple truth is that the NBA is rife with tampering. Players, agents, team executives, and many other NBA player-adjacent parties are rampantly tampering with one another in order to sway notable free agents when the decision-making process is underway. For the Charlotte Hornets, however, that method is a non-starter.
According to David Aldridge of The Athletic, there is one notable NBA general manager who does not, under any circumstance, tamper: Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak.
So David Aldridge says it’s well-known around the @NBA that Mitch Kupchak is the only GM in the league NOT tampering. #BuzzCity pic.twitter.com/V14vm6qxTU
— Kyle Bailey (@KyleBaileyClub) July 11, 2019
Kupchak was a seminal figure in Los Angeles Lakers history as the team’s most notable front office executive for 23 years before being fired in 2017. His tenure in Charlotte, however, has been far from sparkling, and his most recent offseason was marred by not offering Kemba Walker a full max contract (which led to him signing in Boston) and giving a mammoth deal to underwhelming point guard Terry Rozier (3 years, $56.7 million).
While it might be a fact that Kupchak signs his players fair and square, if not tampering leads to bad contracts being signed, perhaps the Hornets GM should reconsider his position on the topic.
Follow Us
Subscribe