Rockets Rumors: Executive Gersson Rosas Emerging as Hornets GM Candidate

The Charlotte Hornets remain on the lookout for a new general manager, and Houston Rockets executive Gersson Rosas appears to be a serious candidate for the job, per Marc Stein of the New York Times.

However, Stein also noted former Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak remains the "perceived frontrunner."

Charlotte fired its previous general manager, Rich Cho, in February.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported immediately that Kupchak was a top target, although the veteran executive recently noted that he didn't have any contact with the Hornets.

"Nope. Nope," he said Friday, per Brendan Marks and Mark Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

So far, Charlotte has received permission to speak to Marc Eversley of the Philadelphia 76ers, Adam Simon from the Miami Heat and Rosas, per Wojnarowski.

Rosas briefly served as the general manager of the Dallas Mavericks in 2013 before abruptly resigning before the start of the season. He returned to the Rockets, where he has spent 15 years overall in the front office and the last four years as the executive vice president of basketball operations.

Houston currently has the best record in the NBA at 56-14.

Whoever takes the Hornets job will have their work cut out for them. The squad appears set to miss the playoffs for the second year in a row. Since 2005, the franchise has only made three playoff appearances, never advancing beyond the first round.

With a lot of money assigned to aging players, a turnaround won't be easy in Charlotte.