The Charlotte Hornets are reportedly targeting three possible high-profile general manager candidates.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Charlotte Hornets have gotten permission to interview three potential general managers. The position has been vacant since the team fired former GM, Rich Cho, on February 20th. The three candidates that they are targeting are Marc Eversley, Gersson Rosas and Adam Simon.
It’s worth noting that Woj made it clear that Mitch Kupchak is still the front-runner to secure the job. The former Los Angeles Lakers‘ general manager has been linked with Charlotte for some time now. His ties to Hornets’ owner Michael Jordan make him the leading candidate.
Charlotte’s planning to start their general manager search this week and they are “hopeful” to hire a new one by the end of the regular season in Mid-April. This is most likely because they want a GM in place before the start of free agency and the draft.
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Eversley is currently the Vice President of Player Personnel for the Philadelphia 76ers. Before joining the Sixers in 2016, Marc was the Vice President of Scouting for the Washington Wizards from 2013-16. He also worked with the Toronto Raptors.
As for Rosas, he is the Houston Rockets‘ Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. Gersson received interest from the Brooklyn Nets to be their GM in 2016 and the San Antonio Spurs in 2012. When he was the General Manager of the Dallas Mavericks, he left the job after only three months.
Rosas is known for his ability to find players as he is a Head Scout for USA Basketball. With the Hornets poor draft record, hiring a GM who can spot talent like Gersson should be a top priority.
Adam Simon works for the Miami Heat as their Assistant General Manager. He is also the GM of the Sioux Falls Skyforce who is Miami’s G-League affiliate. He’s spent 23 years with the Heat so it may take a lot for the Hornets to pry him away from a divisional rival.
Simon is synonymous with player development which is something Charlotte has lacked in recent seasons and a reason why he could be a leading candidate for the job. If he is hired, I bet there is a good chance that he would have a direct hand in not only drafting a player but also with their development.
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Until the Charlotte Hornets hire a new general manager, assistant GM, Buzz Peterson, will run the day-to-day operations for the team. The belief is that whoever is hired will groom Buzz Peterson for a while until he is ready to take over as the general manager. It will be interesting to see who they hire and the process could take a month to complete.