Trajan Langdon, Elton Brand Among Candidates For Hornets’ GM Vacancy

New Orleans Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon and Philadelphia 76ers GM Elton Brand are among the candidates for the Charlotte Hornets’ head of basketball operations vacancy, per John Hollinger of The Athletic.

The Hornets’ Mitch Kupchak moved into an advisor role on Monday, though most believe he was forced out of the job. Hollinger also listed Chicago Bulls GM Marc Eversley as a top candidate.

Both Langdon and Brand starred at Duke before their pro careers. Brand was the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 1999 NBA Draft.

Langdon, 47, has worked under Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin since 2019. Before that, he was an assistant GM with the Brooklyn Nets for three seasons and served as a scout for the San Antonio Spurs from 2102 to 2016.

Langdon has been up for multiple lead GM roles over the past year or two but has opted to remain with New Orleans.

Brand, 44, finished his playing career with the 76ers and became the GM of their G League franchise shortly thereafter. He was promoted to GM of the Sixers in 2018 — but his lead decision-making duties were replaced by current team president Daryl Morey in 2020. Nonetheless, Brand is expected to draw lots of interest for top front-office jobs this offseason.

The Hornets (11-41) have not announced a timeline for replacing Kupchak.

“As Mitch nears the end of his contract, we agreed that now was the right time to begin the search in order to put the organization in the best position for the upcoming offseason,” team owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin said in a joint statement. “We’re excited to begin the hiring process for our new head of basketball operations as we continue to shape this franchise and work towards building a team for long-term sustainable success.

“We will take a deliberate approach to the hiring process and will focus on making the best decision for the organization’s long-term future.”