The Charlotte Hornets were one of the big surprise teams in the NBA early on this season. However, as the regular season unfolded, the Hornets fell apart and ended up finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference. Per the new rules, that still allowed them a chance at the post season, playing at Cleveland in the play-in game. That did not go well though and Hornets head coach James Borrego was fired shortly thereafter.

That left Charlotte looking for a new man to lead this young, talented squad.

Multiple league sources list former Phoenix Suns coach Mike D'Antoni as the leader in the clubhouse to be the next Hornets head coach.

D'Antoni was last an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets in 2020-2021. Prior to that, he was the head man in Houston from 2016-2020 with James Harden.

D'Antoni has long been known as an offensive genius. He is a two-time winner of NBA Coach of the Year. He won the award in 2005 with the Suns and then in 2017 with the Rockets. Offensively, D'Antoni could be a match made in heaven for the Hornets. Charlotte loves to run and has a bunch of young legs to do just that.

LaMelo Ball's career in Charlotte could be taken to another level with a coach like D'Antoni. However, his inability to coach defense has always been a knock. The Hornets were already one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA last season. In order for Charlotte to have sustained success, D'Antoni would likely need to hire a strong defensive assistant coach.