After spending nearly four decades with the Los Angeles Lakers, mostly under the watch of the late Jerry Buss, Mitch Kupchak is now the general manager of Michael Jordan's Charlotte Hornets.
The former NBA player turned team official has had a roller coaster ride as a GM in the league. One of his greatest accomplishments with the Lakers was trading for Pau Gasol back in 2008. Kupchak was also responsible for forming one of the most underachieving ‘superteams' in recent memory when he acquired Dwight Howard and Steve Nash via trades in 2012 to pair with Gasol and Kobe Bryant.
However, with a small market team like the Hornets, signing or trading for marquee players will be tougher compared to Los Angeles. Still, Kupchak feels he will be able to find success in Charlotte because he thinks Michael Jordan is a great team owner.
In fact, Kupchak told The Athletic's Bill Oram that he sees similarities between Jordan and the late Dr. Jerry Buss, who was once the owner of the Lakers.
“I can imagine him and Dr. Buss in the same room, kind of sparring a little bit. I don’t think Michael would feel overmatched for a second — because Dr. Buss was good. He was smart, he didn’t have a pad in front of him, he didn’t need a calculator, he just had a way about him. But I feel like Michael’s the same way.”
Although Jordan hasn't been able to build a championship contending team in Charlotte, Kupchak believes that with his overall qualities as an owner, that can happen soon, and it will all begin this summer, as they are expected to re-sign All-Star guard Kemba Walker.
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