Report: Bobcats hire Rich Cho as GM

The Charlotte Observer reported late Monday that the Bobcats have hired Rich Cho as their new general manager while promoting current GM Rod Higgins to President of Basketball Operations.

Cho, 45, was let go by the Trail Blazers on May 23, just 11 months into his tenure. Blazers president Larry Miller said that the reason for the firing lay more in “chemistry” issues between Cho and Portland owner Paul Allen than it did in Cho’s aptitude.

Cho was the Blazers’ GM when they acquired Gerald Wallace from the Bobcats in late February, trading Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks and two protected draft picks in exchange for the former All-Star forward. The Charlotte Observer said that Higgins reached out to Cho within a day of his ousting, and then pitched his hiring to team owner Michael Jordan.

A former Boeing engineer-turned-attorney, Cho spent 10 years as an assistant general manager with the Seattle/Oklahoma City organization. The Observer reports that Higgins saw great value in Cho’s “analytical” approach to the game.

“I’m a traditional basketball guy, and Rich is a very untraditional addition to our operation here,” Higgins told the Observer.