Hornets
Kupchak, Hornets prepare for a different draft
Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak said, "The tools we have to develop players are a little mitigated this year."
good afternoon to everybody, you know, Here we go with another remote media session. Um, I guess the last one was season ending. And, um, you know, we're approaching the draft and, uh, the start of the season. It's been very, very busy, and we're excited primarily. You know, my understanding is we'll end up talking a lot about, you know, the draft process. But, you know, you're free to ask, you know, any kind of question that you'd like to ask, and I'll do my best to answer it as honestly as I can. So, um, as you know, today's Friday. We have the draft next Wednesday, and, um, it's been moved back twice. This time. We think we got it for riel. So where with our scouts, Some of them are remote. You know, some of them have driven in, um, our staff is here, and we're doing a combination of hybrid of, you know, remote, um, working and participating and participating in person. Um, been very busy. Um, you know, with league still, you know, has, you know, ironing out details as to you know, the next week or two, before we know it, we're gonna be in training camp. And on top of that, you know, before we know it will be looking at and working on the draft in 21 which I'm hopeful we'll put us back on schedule, you know, as it's always been. And that's just around the corner. So that just gives you a feel, you know, for how busy it is and how quickly you know the season will be here and then the end of the season and then working on the 21 draft. So having said that, welcome to everybody. And I'd be the best I do the best they can to answer your questions. We'll start with that will open up to questions from there. So you could just, you know, going to chat and we'll call on you. Steve Goldberg will start with you. I just had on mute there. I mich Hope everybody here is doing well. Um, how do you see Danny idea as an NBA player, Do you think you'll make an immediate impact? Well, I gotta be a little careful, right? The draft hasn't taken place yet, so, um, I don't wanna overdo it, and I don't wanna under do it because, you know, we have the third pick and we have the 32nd pick. Um, I have scouted him personally, and I think he has a chance to be a fun, eh? NBA player, like most of the players, uh, that are coming out. Uh, they're very young, um, 19 and 20 years old, so it's no tough to project. You know how good there'll be three years from now. That is our job. Um, but typically, if you work hard and you've got some god given skills No, you won't get better. And I think that's the case with any Thank you. We'll go Thio Ric Grenell image. Um, Eric, you have said in the past I mean that that talent needs thio guide this principle. Um, I wondered if now that you're close to it, I wondered to what extent you know that. I mean, is that is that 100% true? Under what circumstances would would position carry it all into the third pick? Yeah, And I'm also curious if you have any interest in trading for Russell Westbrook's contract. Since this has come up in the last day. Okay, um, we're not good enough to draft, you know, by position. Um, our team is young, the players air developing. You know, even Terry. Although he's been in the league several years, he's still developing player. And I thought he made a step forward in the mini camp. I thought he looked really good. Now that remains to be seen. But he's one of our veterans, and I think he still got some upside. Clearly the guys younger than him, the PJs and the Miles and the Martin Brothers and Davante. I would like to think that they get better, too. Um, but you know, we're not good enough right now, you know, to win a bunch of games, you know, to get into the playoffs and to advance. I'm not sure if that's the case next year, but it was the case this past year, and I did think, you know, that we were playing our best basketball at the very end. So to answer your question, um, we are gonna have to draft, um for the best player that we feel could be, you know, a 10 12 years starter in this week and pretty much regardless of position. I think we've got a lot of players that air young, even Cody Zeller, you know, at his position at center. But we need to upgrade every position and going from 8 to 3, I think gives us Annette excellent chance to get Get that player. Um, so, you know, long winded Answer. I hope I answered it. Your other question, Rick. You've been around long enough to know that I can't comment, you know, on other teams players, and I'll take that position. You know, today, um, you're you're seeing, and you will see a lot of, um, stories that get leaked. You know, As you know, most of the time, you know there, rumors that go nowhere, and that's the kind of year it is. That's the time of year it is right now. Uh, so we're active, You know, we're talking to teams. We're looking for ways to improve our team. Um, but, you know, obviously I can't comment on other teams, players and pearly from Warner's dot com. Hey, Mitch, Thanks for joining us. Um, knowing this is your third draft with the team and having a little bit more financial flexibility, plus the high draft pick, pick and a high pick in the second round as well. How does the excitement of this draft and what you guys can do compare to the first two drafts that you've had with the organization and ensuing free agency period as well? Well, this is a different year. I mean, it's it's a draft that was supposed to take place in June. It was moved once, I believe toe October, and then it was moved again. Uh, and a lot of what we're doing is remote. We've been doing remote zoom calls since March. So although it's remote and very different, we're very used to it. Um, after all the months we spent, you know, practicing and doing it. Having said that, you know, the third pick is a great place to be picking from. We're also excited about our 32nd pick, uh, and then we've got the 56 picks. That was unexpected. We've got it, and it has value. Um, you know, we'll see. You know who's left, who's available. Um, I do expect that we'd use all three picks. Um, lots of conversations. You know, about moving up, moving back, not only with the third pick, but also with the 32nd pick and a lot of what takes place. You know, like any negotiation. Most of the time it goes down to the wire. So, uh, you're seeing and you'll hear a lot more in terms of speculation. Uh, probably between now and Monday. Tuesday and then things will get pretty serious. Thank you, Josh Them. Hey, Mitch, appreciate the time for you guys in the evaluation process. How difficult was that? Given the circumstances of what we're in with this pandemic? And do you feel like there's going to be a lot of unknowns with guys not having a combine or not having just general normal workouts to figure out who will actually pan out as pro this year? Yeah, um, the process is a little bit more challenging this year than it's been in years past. In particular, uh, gathering medical. It's always been a problem, you know, um, because players can opt out of Chicago or through in Chicago, Then they have to take a physical. Okay, there's no Chicago this year, although there is a pre draft combine, Uh, that's being done virtually, Um, and participation probably has been less than in years past. And what that means is you have a lot of players out there that did not participate in the n b A combine. Uh, therefore, you've got to secure the physical information, and most of the time the agents, you know, get physical with a doctor that's very reliable and that in the information is shared amongst everybody. Um, there are times when the agents don't share it, okay? And that's their right to try to manipulate the draft. That's what they do. They represent their players so that that's been a little bit more challenging, um, than in years past. Um, I do feel, uh, the virtual part of the process has gone very well, you know, Um, like I said, we've been doing it since March. The other thing that I'm sure you're aware of, the MBA, Uh, three weeks ago, um, allowed teams to begin visiting players, uh, 10 players a maximum, and we had to go to see the players. So to some degree, that's been added bonus. That's allowed us to, um, further evaluate the players something we didn't have three weeks ago. And I will say that of the 10 visits we've used all 10. Go to Chris Lee. I manage. Thank you for your time today. Chris Lee from WRL in Raleigh, North Carolina. Um, wanna ask Maura about, um I guess with the D League kind of being influx, and we're not sure if it's gonna if things they're gonna kinda happen with that. And you guys have been very liberal using it the last couple of years to really develop players. Do you feel like in this draft, you need to have, uh, need to draft players so a little bit more ready to play instead of folks who may be, ah, project or guys that you may need to develop because you may not have that opportunity to develop them this year? Well, I will tell you that at number three will probably end up drafting somebody who's 19 or 20. Okay, that that's that's just the nature you know, of the MBA with the one and done today A to 32. Um, there's more of a likelihood that we would draft somebody that's a four year player. And, um, at 56 it's hard to speculate. You know who might be there? Um, it's very possible or third pick, spent some time in the D League. You know, it's not something that happens often in this league. Um, when we interviewed the players, we asked them they're feeling about the G League, and they've all indicated that it's something that they would do if we if they thought it if we thought it was in the best interest of their development. Now, if I had a handicap, the third pick being at the G leagues, I would probably say 70 80%. He would not. Okay, Um, but I can't say with certainty that we wouldn't, you know, you said, as an opportunity to develop him further, Uh, you know, there's only 72 games this year, Um, less preseason games, and they've been in years past. So the tools that we have to develop players are a little mitigated this year. Um, maybe 32 would would spend time in Greensboro and certainly 56 if we draft an American player. We spent some time in the D League as well. Um, the D League has been really good to us the last couple of years. Um, it's a tough league to play in, uh, the players play extremely hard. You know, most most are likely times there. 28 29 years old. And you throw a young kid down there, Who's 19? 2021 you're going up against, you know, grown men you know who are fighting to get into the MBA. So it's a tough league, and we have used it to develop our players. Two years ago, of course. You know, Davant. And then, um, I I think last year, um, you know, we spent bacon. We spent, um, McDaniels, the Martin Brothers. Um and we've gotten good results. So it's our plan to continue now. The downside to that, you know, when we mandate that we play our younger players is that you don't mean a zoo. Many games you do against teams that are fielding players in their late twenties. Um, so that's the downside to doing that. And we'd like to win games, you know, in the D League and often develop players. But if it comes down to one of the other, you know, we're going thio, you know, use the Geely to develop players and hopefully at the same time, you know, create a fan base uh, that enjoys watching haunted players that go up and down and and win some games. But winning games is not the priority. We'd like to win games, of course, but the most important thing is to develop players for the Hornets. Thank you. Rick will go back to you. Hey, Mitch, I thought it was really interesting Thea Other day when JB talked about you know what it's going to be like in this very compact situation where basically, you're going from having the draft to going through free agency to starting a training camp in a little over two weeks. I just wondered from your perspective, since particularly since you've gone through some, you know, lock lockouts how do you think that that will affect everything you have to do in a season when you obviously you have a really high pick and you have have significant cap room? Well, everybody's got to go through the same thing. We dio all 30 teams, you know, I have to deal with you know, the same challenges. And yes, you're right. I've been through a couple of lockouts, and one day there's, you know, almost nothing going on, and then the next day. You know, you read about a deal and about the season starting in three weeks and, you know, here we go, right, We're off to the races. Um, and that's the case this year. You know, you just you know, as we've learned in the last, I hope we've learned in the last nine months, you know, you can no longer say Well, you know, this is not how it used to bay or I'm not used to doing it this way. We can't do that. You know, we wake up in the morning and we have to be flexible and roll with the punches. And that's what we have to do. Not only, you know, with health and safety and our world, this is today. But it's also, you know, our challenges going forward. If this is what we have to dio, then we just got to do it. And by past experience, you know, I know we can do it. Somehow you get through it, it will be, Ah, very busy and challenging, you know, two or three weeks, um, and the visits that we've made with players in the last two or three weeks you know, they've couple of them have asked us, You know, what can they expect? And I walked them through. You know what your next two or three weeks could look like? Like all they've been doing for the last six months is working out by themselves. Okay, guess what? There's gonna be a draft. Uh, there will be the excitement of virtual interviews on then and then you have to negotiate a contract, and then hopefully that goes smoothly. And now you've got to get to Charlotte or another city. You got to get a place to live. You got to get a car. You got to sign a contract. You've got to get a physical when you get here. Um, you know, you're going to go into training camp. Maybe with no days in between signing a contract and beginning camp, you know, You know, we used to sign a contract the first week of July, right? Go to summer league for two weeks, you know, have another two months off. The players come into town three or four weeks before camp, and you kind of just, you know, ease into training camp. You know, it's not gonna be that way this year. Um, and, you know, we will get through it. Um, I don't think that's gonna be a problem. The players, they'll adapt their young, you know, they don't know what other players have done, and they'll get through it, too. But it will be a challenge, and it is going to come and go quick. Well, well, the compacted schedule affect the way that free agency works at all. Based on your experience. What do you mean? Well, it seemed like I remember from covering two lockouts. It seemed like when everything got compacted, it seemed like deals. There was not the sort of, you know, a couple of days signings, and then the market would, you know, would level off, and people knew there was still a, you know, 8, 12 weeks before everything to come to terms. I just wondered if you thought compacting all this into two weeks, you know, until training camp would have an effect on the marketplace. You know? You know something, Rick? Well, we're gonna learn something, Um, as a team and as a league, just like I think we learned something, you know, with the playing tournament. um, in the mini bubble. You know something that nobody expected this lead to go through this year, right? Nobody expected that. There has been talk about, you know, abbreviating or doing something mid season, or, you know, and but we never went anywhere. Okay, And then this year, because of the pandemic and the bubble, you know, people had a look at the world a little differently, and they had to adjust to it. And, you know, something we learned I think that that was a good thing. You know, something to look at it going forward. Eso I do feel that the free agent period this year that there may there may be more urgency. Associate id with it. Um, I think we have a day and a half of a moratorium, and I think in years past, it's been a little bit longer. Eso Yeah, um, there's not gonna be is much time, Um, as there was in between to negotiate and so to speak, flush out what might be true and what might not be true. And that could be a little dangerous, right? You have to make quicker decisions. Um, but every GM is in the same position. Um, so yeah. Um, but you know something? Looking back on it. Six months from now, we'll probably have learned something from the process. And and maybe we could incorporate it. Going forward, go to Jason and then Jack. So, Jason, uber go ahead. Hey, Mitch. Jason Huber here with radio dot com. I'm wondering, I know you. We've talked here now about the G league and the compact season. Is there any possibility that you could be in a situation where, with just a few weeks between the draft to playing that this whoever you draft, you know, may not have as big of an impact early on Because of the short time to adjust team adjust to the league. Is there any scenario that you could see that possibly happening? Are you talking about number three? Yeah, number three, and I mean yeah, basically, number three. Since you mentioned younger guys, the later picks may take time. Yeah, Yeah, I think, um, like I handicapped it, you know, um, a little bit earlier, but yes, I think it is very possible, uh, in years past, you know, you make that draft selection at the end of June, You go to summer league and you have three months to get ready for veterans camp. Um, and in those three months, at a young age, when you're 19 or 20 you get better quickly. If you work, you know, versus, you know, later on you those of the years you really can can improve quickly on most players, due from June, you know, to November of the following year. Um, the players that I've talked to, you know, they're they're bored. Um, you know, they can't play against anybody there in a gym going one on. Oh, you know, some of them have a trainer. Some of them don't. And basically, what can you do in the gym by yourself? You just kind of shoot, right? You go up and down the court, you handle the ball a little bit and you're dying to play. Um, and you're probably not in great shape. So yeah, there is some concern, you know, even at number three. Although I would like I said, handicap it that, you know, a player at number three should be able to play maybe quicker than somebody at eight. Or 10. Um, but the option is still there. You know, we may end up, you know, erring on the side of question if somebody is not in great shape. Right, Um, if we feel development wise in terms of minutes Ah, and you know, a lot of times for a kid. Um, you know, a month in the Geely could feel like forever. No, but the reality is, you know, when they come out of it and they've got another six months of the season, they look back on it. And it it wasn't forever. It felt like it was forever. But it really wasn't, um, and they've gotten better. And they look back on and they say, Hey, that was good for May. But, you know, you know, those are all things that remain to be seen. Um, yeah. I feel really comfortable with our three picks. Um, having three picks. It kind of forces you to know the whole draft, right? If you just had number three, then you really concentrate on the top 10 or 12. And if you just have three and 32 then you just concentrate on the top 40. But when you got three picks, you know at range that our picks range. You know, you spend a lot of time looking at the top 86 players, which is what we've done. Yeah, we've got 85 86 players, and that's a lot. But it's been challenging. And, you know, our group. You know, Larry Jordan leads the group. Um, you know, I feel confident, you know, based on what they've done in years past, you know, with the draft that they've done that, you know, we're going to understand and know this draft. You know, one through 80 85 Jack will go to you. Image jacked over here. You said a few minutes ago that your team will always be active with high profile players around league being on the move. So do you think you're young team right now is ready to bring on a star caliber player or you think it's more wise to continue to build your roster organically from the ground up? Um, I'm not sure I said exactly what you said. Okay, um, I think what you said was is that I said we will always be acting with high profile players. Did the active with just active with players being on the move. Do you think your team is kind of ready to bring in a star player You wanna be? Oh, yes. Yeah. I did say that this time of year. You know, In fact, just on this call, I see the two general managers tried to call me, uh, this time of year that it's our job to reach out and talk to teams and get a feel for what they will and will do it. Zbig poker poker game. It's a big puzzle. It's a big chess match. Um, and, um, you know some of the reports that are released or accurate, and some of them aren't, um, But it is my job to research, you know, to take every call from every general manager. Um, 90% 95% of the time. There's really not much to discuss, but it is my job to do that. It is my job. We'll look for opportunities to use our assets, which right now are our picks and our capital flexibility going forward. You know, those are our biggest assets, you know, right now, uh, making a trade, I would hope to be able to do something like that. Of course, that's the last way. You know that you can improve a team. Um, so, yes, I hear what you're saying. You know? Does it make sense to add, you know, a big time veteran player? Um, at first glance, you might say no, but it is my job to research their every opportunity. And if it's something that I feel that needs to be pursued, I pursue it and bring it to ownership.