The Grizzlies continue to make changes on the management front, as they are hiring former Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho to the front office.
After another unsuccessful season for the Memphis Grizzlies, multiple front office changes have already occurred. The most recent addition to the front office is Rich Cho, former General Manager of the Charlotte Hornets.
This news comes from ESPN’s Adrian Wojranowski. Glen Grunwald, former General Manager of the Knicks and Raptors, will be joining Cho in Memphis.
Cho will be the Vice President of Basketball Strategy, where as Grunwald will be the teams Senior Advisor.
Earlier this month, the Grizzlies fired Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, and demoted Chris Wallace from General Manager to Scout. The team is preparing for an important off-season, as they hope to find an identity for their young, new-look roster featuring Jaren Jackson Jr.
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Memphis has been in rebuild mode over the past couple of seasons, and they seem to be adamant on bringing in more and more young talent, which could make starting point guard Mike Conley once again available for trade over the summer.
Hiring Cho is a bit of a bold move by Memphis, considering his tenure with the Hornets wasn’t exactly a pretty one. Fans became outraged when Cho dished out multiple bad contracts that have hurt the team going forward.
In 2016, Cho signed Nicolas Batum to a massive five-year, $120 million contract. He also signed Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to a four-year, $52 million deal, Cody Zeller to a four-year, $56 million deal and Marvin Williams to a four-year, $54.5 million deal.
Aside from Batum, those contracts didn’t look very bad at the time, but given the production they are getting from those players now, it just hasn’t turned out well. Zeller is often injured, Williams is older and MKG has a reduced role.
Cho was replaced by Mitch Kupchak prior to the 2018-19 season. Kupchak, who has built championship teams with the Lakers in the past, had a successful first season in Charlotte, but he has a tough job ahead this off-season.
In his first season with the Hornets, Kupchak drafted Miles Bridges and Devonte’ Graham, signed Tony Parker as a free agent and hired James Borrego. He assembled a roster as well as anyone could given the circumstances, and that team was just one game away from the playoffs.
We’ll see if Cho has any success in his new role with Memphis. While his tenure in Charlotte ended poorly, he did have some good moments and I wish him the best with the Grizzlies.