Charlotte Hornets Announces New Head Coach

The Hornets were on a month long search after their former head coach, Steve Clifford, stepped down. Charlotte’s front office was under pressure as several potential head coach options, such as Jason Kidd, Darvin Ham, and JJ Redick, were being picked up.

Per the Hornets PR team’s press release, the team stated:

“Charlotte Hornets Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson announced today the team has hired Charles Lee as head coach. Lee, who brings 10 years of experience as an NBA assistant coach, will join the Hornets after concluding the NBA Playoffs with the Boston Celtics, where he has spent the 2023-24 season as the team’s top assistant.”

Lee also served as an assistant coach for the 2020-2021 NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks. He spent his earlier coaching days on the Atlanta Hawks from 2014-2018. In his ten seasons as an assistant coach, Charles Lee’s teams had a 510-291 regular-season record, nine playoff appearances, seven division titles, and five times secured the first seed in the Eastern Conference.

His teams also had the best record in the NBA in four of the last six seasons!

What Else Does The Hornets Need?

The Hornets are one of the worst teams when it comes to defending the deep ball. They have allowed the fifth-highest 3-PT% in two of the last three seasons. They also allowed the worst 3-PT% on the road with a 39.6% average.

Their other major concern is their players’ health. Lamelo Ball and Mark Williams went down early last season. Lamelo Ball, when healthy, is an All-Star player. Charlotte will see how Mark Williams produces when he has a healthy season.