Charlotte Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak walked away from Thursday’s NBA deadline with a sense of disappointment. He says he was close on a couple of deals, but never consummated anything before the 3 p.m. cutoff.
“You always feel after the trade deadline you could have done better or could have done more,” Kupchak said during a conference call with Charlotte media late Thursday afternoon.
The Hornets were in discussions with the Memphis Grizzlies about center Marc Gasol and the Dallas Mavericks about guard-forward Harrison Barnes. Neither of those veterans ended up with the Hornets. Kupchak didn’t address specific deals, but characterized the last couple of days this way:
“I would say we focused on two or three (possible trades) as of late and I thought were making progress.