(Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
On Wednesday, it was announced that Steve Clifford, the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, will be stepping down at the end of this season.
That means the team, which has seemingly always been in rebuilding mode, will need a replacement.
Executive Jeff Peterson, who was recently hired to be their head of basketball operations, could go after Boston Celtics assistant Charles Lee, according to Chris Mannix.
Jeff Peterson will now make an important coaching hire with Steve Clifford stepping down, as @wojespn reported. There’s been a lot of chatter in coaching circles that Celtics assistant Charles Lee will be a strong candidate in Charlotte.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) April 3, 2024
This is Clifford’s second go-around as Charlotte’s head coach — he first got the job for the 2013-14 season, and after coaching the Orlando Magic from 2018 to 2021, he returned to the team.
During his first stint, which lasted five seasons, he got the team to the NBA playoffs twice.
Charlotte has the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference at 18-57, but they do have a bit of promising young talent in star guard LaMelo Ball and forward Miles Bridges.
Ever since former majority owner Michael Jordan sold a large stake in the team last summer, it has gone through many changes, including bringing in Peterson and trading away Terry Rozier, P.J. Washington, and Gordon Hayward.
Moving forward, the Hornets need to get under the salary cap, as they’re “hard-capped,” according to spotrac.com.
This summer’s free-agent market won’t be that rich, but the 2025 class could be interesting, as it could include stars such as Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, and Brandon Ingram.
In their current iteration, the Hornets have never won a playoff series.
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