AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File
Charlotte Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak told reporters Tuesday that the team isn’t expecting to use its salary cap flexibility to make big splashes in free agency.
“Although we have a lot of financial flexibility, we don’t typically go big-game hunting with our free-agent money,” Kupchak told reporters Tuesday, per Steve Reed of the Associated Press.
“We’re going to use that to sign back players,” Kupchak added.
Per Reed, the Hornets are projected to be $39 million under next year’s salary cap, which would rank top-10 in the NBA in flexibility.
Charlotte has some key players set for restricted free agency in the coming years. Starting power forward P.J. Washington is there this offseason, while superstar LaMelo Ball is set to be an RFA in 2024 barring an extension.
Kupchak’s remarks come amid talks that Michael Jordan is considering selling the Hornets to a group led by minority owner Gabe Plotkin, which purchased a share of the team in 2019.
“Four years ago, Michael Jordan sold a stake in the Charlotte Hornets to a Gabe Plotkin-led group,” Jump Management (Michael Jordan’s family office) said in a statement to the AP in March. “As a natural step in a process due to that transaction, Michael and Gabe are in discussions about his group potentially buying an additional stake.”
The Hornets were valued at $1.7 billion in Oct. 2022, per Forbes. Reed noted that a sale of the team isn’t imminent. In addition, the statement read that it was “unclear whether an additional sale will take place.”
As for the present, the Hornets are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 27-55 season. Injuries played a big role in the team’s regression from a play-in tournament appearance the year before, with Ball notably sidelined for more than half the season.
A healthier roster should go a long way toward improvement, and the Hornets also have a to-be-determined lottery pick in the June draft.
Until then, Kupchak realizes that Charlotte, which hasn’t won a playoff series since 2002, may not be the place to go for free agents.
“Maybe one day we will get to the point where a marquee free agent would look at our team and we’re winning a bunch of games and he’ll say, ‘Hey, that’s a place I really want to go,” Kupchak said. “But right now, I don’t think that’s realistic. We’ve got to do it through the draft primarily.”
The Hornets will discover their spot in the first round on May 16 when the lottery occurs.
