Mitch Kupchak and George Karl to the Hornets? Could happen.

Kupchak has plenty of time to kill since being replaced as general manager of the Lakers. He’s attended at least two Carolina home games this season, plus the Tar Heels’ thrilling win at N.C. State. On his last trip, George Karl came along, looking hale and healthier since winning his second battle over cancer.

With Michael Jordan and the Hornets firing general manager Rich Cho this week, Kupchak’s name is all over social media as Cho’s successor. I’ll one-up the speculation and say that Karl has another coaching job in him, and it will be in Charlotte.

Jordan has been accused of surrounding himself with long-time friends who are more “yes men” than savvy basketball operators. But if this becomes a Carolina connection, there will be good reason for it. Charlotte is a small-market NBA franchise, which needs to produce a winner and more buzz than a mascot can provide.

Kupchak worked under his mentor Jerry West for years, and after taking over the Lakers they won four world championships in six trips to the NBA Finals. He had teams with Kobe and Shaq, which won’t happen with the Hornets because the best free agents can’t get what will land them in Charlotte over LA, Boston, New York and Chicago. The Spurs sure have shown you can win in a small market.

Coach Steve Clifford has done a reasonable job with the Hornets, but Karl at 66 still has a lot of fire in him. Read his book “Furious George” if you want to know more about the ex-Tar Heel dive-on-the-floor guard who is one of nine NBA coaches to win more than 1,000 games. Bringing him on would create immediate buzz while Kupchak rebuilds a roster that will miss the playoffs again this season.

Having a Tar Heel triumvirate of Kupchak, assistant GM Buzz Peterson and eventually Karl should make a lot of sense to Jordan, who doesn’t have the best reputation as an owner. At least these are long-time basketball grinders as well as his Carolina brethren.

Kupchak needs a change of scenery after tragically losing a teenage daughter a few years ago, and he knows that analytics are a big part of scouting on all levels. Jordan will give him rope to hire the best young “Money Ball” minds to tell him that side of the story to go along with the erudite Kupchak’s great intuition for the game.

Larry Brown’s short stay in Charlotte produced the best recent results, and Kupchak and Karl will be in it for the long haul. Go get ‘em, MJ, they are the perfect fit for buzz and winning basketball.