Charlotte heads into an offseason with a lot of questions about its future direction and how to turn around a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2016.
The search for the person tasked with answering those questions has four prominent names, reports Marc Stein in his latest newsletter. They are:
• Jeff Peterson (currently Sean Marks right-hand man in Brooklyn)
• Trajan Langdon (currently with New Orleans, he has been close to other GM jobs in the recent past)
• Matt Lloyd (currently with Minnesota, with previous stops in Chicago and Orlando)
• Austin Ainge (currently with Boston, yes he is the son of former Celtic and current Jazz head man Danny Ainge)
Those men are looking to replace Mitch Kupchak, who stepped aside just after the trade deadline. That was not a surprise, once Michael Jordan sold his majority stake in the Hornets to Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, an organizational overhaul was expected.
Whoever gets the job comes into a team with standout rookie Brandon Miller, point guard LaMelo Ball (who is again battling injuries but has a five-year max contract that starts next season) and the need to build a strong player development program while adding depth to the current roster.
