GM Mitch Kupchak put a bow on the Hornets’ season. Here’s what you should know

In the aftermath in each of these past five seasons, the pattern is pretty much the same.

Mitch Kupchak is left explaining how the Charlotte Hornets came up short in failing to achieve a key item on their to-do list, breaking down the reasons for yet another fruitless campaign that didn’t yield a postseason berth. The Hornets’ president of basketball operations/general manager had to do it again Tuesday, but he also relayed the edict he gave to the players in their sit-downs during the past couple of days: it’s time to get to the postseason. Now.

And Kupchak insists he’s driven to make it happen.

“In the exit meetings, I made it clear that next year playoffs are our goal,” Kupchak said. “And I feel great. I do want to see this through. I don’t know if I’ll be sitting here 10 years from now. But I’d like to be sitting here a year from now, two years from now, three years from now and watching this team that our staff has put together perform.

“I think it’s realistic that next year will be a playoff (season). Once again, you’ve got to take things into consideration and hope that your roster does improve. But I think it’s realistic. ... I’d like to watch these young guys come around.”

Whether that will happen under new ownership remains to be seen. With exploratory talks taking place between owner Michael Jordan, Hornets minority owner Gabe Plotkin and Atlanta Hawks minority owner Rick Schnall, inquiring minds wonder what that would potentially mean for Charlotte’s front office, especially since Kupchak signed a multiyear extension last May.

Kupchak didn’t bite, though.

“You are asking me to speculate, kind of like ‘what if,’” Kupchak said. “Typically, the basketball operations, players, contracts, redraft, that stuff doesn’t really get affected by that. But beyond that, that kind of speculation is really, it’s kind of above my pay grade and it doesn’t help me to sit back and do the ‘what if’ thing.”

Kupchak addressed a number of topics during his half-hour session. Among them were:

Miles Bridges

There’s still nothing imminent on the Miles Bridges’ front – and it won’t be for a while apparently.

Kupchak revealed that if both sides come to an agreement, which the Charlotte Observer has reported is likely once everything is worked out behind the scenes, it’s not going to happen within the next two months. Instead, a potential timeline has shifted to when the league’s new fiscal year begins in the summer.

“The NBA is conducting an investigation and that’s the status of the situation right now,” Kupchak said. “There’s really not an update. It hasn’t been changed, so even when they complete their investigation there are going to be steps that need to be taken, whether that’s us or other teams. Because it looks like for certain that this is now going to go over July 1. Maybe there was some thought that somebody or us would sign him during the season. But that’s not possible. So, this whole issue will roll over to July 1st.”

Just how will that affect the offseason plans of the Hornets, who are armed with roughly $40 million in salary cap space this summer and have free agents like PJ Washington, Kelly Oubre and Dennis Smith Jr.?

“Well, the good news is that not only Miles, but some of our other players are restricted free agents,” Kupchak said. “So, once again I can’t predict what’s going to happen. Those are positions that teams get put in periodically, not only us. So, we are just going to have to deal with it, and when July 1 rolls around we are going to have to have a plan, which we will of course. And you are going to have to move quickly to do the best you can.”

LaMelo Ball

Kupchak said LaMelo Ball is progressing nicely and the bone in his fractured right ankle has almost fully healed. There are no concerns about the health of the star point guard.

As for the next step for Ball to elevate himself into the elite category, Kupchak indicated a couple of areas that could aid the 21-year-old’s development and foster his growth.

“Continue to get stronger,” Kupchak said. “The first thing, obviously, is get healthy, which I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. He needs to get stronger so that his body can compete with some of the bigger and stronger players in this league and that will allow him to get to the rim a little more. I don’t worry about his unselfishness and finding open guys. He always finds a way to get a 3 off.

“Sometimes it’s because he’s at the line and then sometimes it’s because he’s 8 feet behind the line. So, I don’t worry about that.”

Besides adding bulk, there’s something else Kupchak would love to see from Ball.

“At some point a big step is going to be the leadership role,” Kupchak said. “And to be a leader, you’ve got to play. But that’s not the kind of thing you can come in at 19, 20, 21 and then just say, ‘I’m going to be a leader.’ It doesn’t happen that way. It’s going to happen gradually and that affects the locker room, right. Being accountable, continuing to be professional, lead by example. So, that’s not going to happen this year or maybe even next year, but that’s going to be another big step for him when he gets to be of age.”

Aligning Ball alongside the proper talent to best take advantage of his skill set is imperative for the Hornets. Kupchak is convinced they are already well on their way to doing that.

“I think the pieces around him right now are pretty good,” Kupchak said. “And I think the younger players are going to get better. I really think that if we had our team intact this year we would have won 40 games and maybe more, and we would be playing right now. So the infrastructure is there. Can we improve it? We have the assets to do it.

“The booby prize in the whole thing is we are going to get a really good pick in the draft, knock on wood. So, we are going to get a really good player and that will help us going forward, too.”

Steve Clifford

Kupchak praised coach Steve Clifford. In the first year of his second tour of duty with the team, Clifford was forced to adjust frequently due to all the injuries. And although there weren’t a lot of wins mixed in throughout, Kupchak said it was easy to evaluate Clifford.

“He did a great job,” Kupchak said. “We did exit interviews (Monday) with all the players. You don’t always listen to what every player says, because sometimes a player says, ‘Yeah, I like the coach.’ That’s because he played a lot of minutes. And a player that didn’t play a lot of minutes says, ‘Well, I don’t like the coach.’ So, you have to be careful how you process that information.

“But the players … if you’ve been around Cliff, you know he’s not out there being nice to everybody. He can really get under your skin, call you out no matter who you are. But having said that I think our players appreciate the fact that he treats everybody the same, that he is a straight shooter with everybody. I think that was the theme by everybody on the team.”