The Charlotte Hornets endured another miserable campaign this past season, and as a result of their struggles, Steve Clifford opted to step down as the team's head coach and move into a front office role with the team. With Clifford in the front office, the Hornets needed to find a new head coach, and they have done just that, as they have hired Boston Celtics assistant Charles Lee to be their new head coach, passing over JJ Redick in the process.
Lee has been working as an assistant coach for over a decade now, as he initially broke in with his alma mater Bucknell before spending time with the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, and Celtics in the NBA. Lee has been regarded as one of the top assistants in the league, and he worked alongside Mike Budenholzer to help lead Milwaukee to a championship in 2021.
After Budenholzer was fired last offseason, Lee left Milwaukee to join Joe Mazzulla's staff in Boston, and he will continue working alongside them for the remainder of their postseason run before joining Charlotte. And once he does make the jump from the C's to the Hornets, his new team will be hoping that he can help their squad begin to realize some of their potential.
Charles Lee looking to help Hornets take next step forward
There were obviously bigger names available on the head coaching market, but Lee is one of the most well-respected assistants in the game, and now he has landed his first head coaching gig with a Hornets team that has a lot of young talent on their roster. They are going to be banking on Lee to help the team start to put the pieces of the puzzle together, because they cannot afford to endure another campaign like the 2023-24 season.
The two pillars of the Hornets right now are LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, and Lee's biggest task is going to be finding a way to get them to work in tandem with each other in an effort to lead their team to victory. Both Ball and Miller have proven to be exceptional young talents, but they didn't get much of a chance to play together this season due to Ball being limited to only 22 games due to a bevy of injuries.
Passing over guys like Redick may be somewhat surprising to fans, but the Hornets clearly feel good about their decision to go with Lee, and he has a track record of success as an assistant in this league. If he can come into town and get the Hornets to adhere to his principles and schemes, they could end up being a surprise playoff contender out of the Eastern Conference next year.
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