Hornets have Michael Jordan’s patience and trust; how long before wins matter more?
I heard Charlotte Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak use a word Wednesday I thought he’d never utter.
“Rebuild.”
Kupchak and coach James Borrego avoided that term almost compulsively, even if it’s the most accurate description of what the Hornets are doing. Embracing that is important, because the last thing the Hornets should consider is quick fixes.
Everyone is in agreement on that, Kupchak said in a midseason interview, including team owner Michael Jordan.
‘He’s 100 percent on board with what we’re doing,” Kupchak said. “We made a decision to take a certain approach for this summer, and we knew what that would lead to (losing) this year. There are no surprises.”
The Hornets are 18-36 coming out of the All-Star break, the sixth-fewest victories in the NBA. Borrego has leaned to young guys in every close playing-time decision. The Hornets will enter the offseason with a high first-round pick and at least $28 million in salary-cap space.
That’s an opportunity to improve. It could also be an invitation to screw up: To overpay with dollars and years to sign a free agent who makes them just marginally better. To trade for a veteran who might be out of the rotation by the time the Hornets contend for a playoff spot.
Jordan became one of basketball’s greatest players with massive competitive zeal. It’s important he tempers that zeal and ride out the losses at least another season.
Jordan has said the intermediate step in building a contender is a roster talented enough to earn home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Hornets are a long way from there. Jordan needs to keep reminding himself of that.
Kupchak has demonstrated with some solid draft picks that he has a grasp on the situation. He says there is a plan, and everyone is synchronized. They need to stick to that script.
Alignment, clarity
Among the things Kupchak said Wednesday was how aligned he feels he, Jordan and Borrego are. If so, that’s a change from the last administration. There was tension between then-general manager Rich Cho and then-coach Steve Clifford that made plotting a course more difficult.
I asked Borrego after practice Wednesday about that, in part because he came from a San Antonio Spurs franchise that is the model for NBA alignment.
“Without that communication and alignment, your organization is in trouble; it will catch up to you at some point,” Borrego said. “I really feel from Day 1 that we’ve been on the same page. We talk consistently — Mitch and myself and Mitch, Michael and myself.
“There is a trust there and there is alignment. It at least gives us a chance. A lot of organizations don’t give themselves a chance because they don’t have that connection.”
The friction that went on previously doesn’t appear to exist. The organizational structure is more clear; Kupchak has power over the basketball operation that seems to go beyond what Cho did when he was promoted from assistant general manager. Kupchak hired Borrego, while Clifford’s tenure as coach pre-dated Cho’s promotion.
Kupchak said Wednesday he works directly for Jordan; there is no bureaucracy in-between that interferes with communication. Kupchak leaves playing time to Borrego; he might offer input, but he doesn’t dictate to the coach who to play.
Development to performance
For now, the plan is to prioritize developing young players over wins and losses. That has succeeded to the extent Devonte Graham, P.J. Washington, Miles Bridges, Malik Monk and Cody Martin are all better than they were in September.
The question is when that must translate to team performance. That’s at least a year out, I’d say, because there is a greater risk of wasting cap flexibility by jumping heavily into free agency this summer than there’s potential benefit. Kupchak reiterated Wednesday that while they will explore the free-agent market in July, he doesn’t expect to sign a big name.
They need rim protection. They need a wing scorer. But they most need a star because I don’t know that anyone on the current roster is good enough to be the best player on a team that advances deep into the playoffs.
Kupchak said Wednesday he has no doubt that when the Hornets become good enough to advance in the playoffs, Jordan will spend, even if that pushes the payroll above the luxury-tax threshold.
Kupchak feels a heavy responsibility as Jordan’s general manager that he wouldn’t feel working for some random rich guy off Wall Street. He values the patience Jordan shows. He also knows that patience has limits.
“I get a good feeling about this group going forward,” Kupchak said. “Having said that, I wasn’t brought here for us to have a good feeling.
“We’ve got to get somewhere.”
