Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.
Cody Zeller has been shut down for the remainder of the season as his sore left knee continues to bother him. (CharlotteObserver.com) In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets offering Mitch Kupchak the GM job, if the team regrets their 2017 first-round draft pick and how it’s only the beginning for Marcus Paige.
Hornets expect to hire Mitch Kupchak (Twitter/ @TheSteinLine)
"The Charlotte @hornets have formally offered their GM post to Mitch Kupchak and are confident they can soon seal a deal with the longtime former Lakers executive, according to league sources."
It looks like Charlotte has zeroed in on their next general manager. After targeting Gersson Rosas along with Kupchak, it seems like Michael Jordan has found his man and the former Los Angeles Lakers’ GM has been offered the Hornets’ job. It’s unclear how long the deal would be for but the Queen City team is “confident” in getting one done.
Charlotte’s expected to hire their next general manager before the end of the regular season. Kupchak is a big name and his resume speaks for itself as he helped bring six NBA Titles to LA as the GM and assistant GM from 1986 to 2017. It will be interesting to see what plans Mitch has for the Hornets considering that they are a small market team compared to the Lakers.
Does Charlotte regret drafting Malik Monk? (BleacherReport.com)
"Of 509 NBA players, Malik Monk ranks last in real plus-minus, per ESPN.com. The Charlotte Hornets have to be second-guessing their 2017 first-round selection with Monk shooting 33.4 percent during a year in which they presumably were expecting to reach the playoffs."
At this point, the Hornets and every fan have to be regretting the Monk selection at least a little bit. Especially considering how well Donovan Mitchell has played this year. Charlotte was targeting Mitchell and there’s an argument to be made that if they would’ve selected him, this team would be in the playoffs.
Just because they regret the pick right now doesn’t mean Malik won’t still be a star in the future. While he’s shown a few flashes of brilliance, he’s also shown a lot of inexperience with his poor shot selection and turnovers. Luckily for Monk and Charlotte, he’s only 20-year old and has plenty of time to grow and develop his game but we have to admit that the start of his career has been less than ideal.
Just the beginning for Marcus Paige (TheGazette.com)
"On March 22, 2018, Paige scored his first points in the NBA. It’s an achievement he considers only the beginning. “It’s a great moment, but at the same time, I’m hoping I get to build on this and have a long career (in the NBA).”"
The Charlotte Hornets’ two-way player had an impressive first year with the franchise. Although he spent most of it in the G-League with the Greensboro Swarm, Paige led the team in scoring, assists, steals and three’s made. After having the season that he had, Marcus may be in line for a roster spot during training camp next year.
Next: Ranking Charlotte's last eight first-round picks
The 24-year old could battle for the third-string point guard spot on either the Hornets or another NBA team. While I don’t think he’ll ever be a starter at the NBA level, I do think that he has the chance to be a solid role player and backup. His first year with Charlotte may be the start of bigger things to come for Paige going forward.