Kupchak Admits 'There's a Temptation' to Trade Up to No. 1 Although It's 'Unrealistic'
At the end of the regular season, Charlotte Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak was asked if he'd be willing to trade up for the No. 1 pick to land Victor Wembanyama if they didn't win the lottery.
"To go from four to one, that's like major. You've got to give away probably half your franchise to do something like that. Of course, we'll look into it but I think especially in this year's draft, I think that's very unlikely the team that gets number one would move it."
After the lottery, Kupchak was asked the same question now that they're just one spot away from being in a position to take Wemby. His answer didn't differ all that much, as you would expect.
“Yeah, there’s a temptation [to trade up]. I just don’t think that’s realistic, to be honest with you. If we had the number one pick, I would take phone calls because that’s my job, but I probably wouldn’t listen very hard.”
Players like Victor Wembanyama don't come around every year. So when they do pop up, the team that lands the No. 1 pick isn't going to be interested in engaging in any trade conversations. There's nothing that Charlotte could offer that would even make San Antonio at least think about it. Although it's frustrating for Kupchak to not land No. 1, climbing up to No. 2 is a win and he views it as such.
"Of course, human nature sets you up to get greedy, so when it was the two teams left, yeah, we wanted number one. For a second, there was a little bit of, ‘Ah, shucks. We didn’t get it.’ But overall, to go from four and not to go back to eight and then to go from number four to number two, it’s an incredible stroke of luck. I wish there was some way we could have prepared for it and done something to improve our luck other than lose games. Incredibly excited about getting a pick like that."
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