The Hornets are set to bring in another one of their head coaching finalists, Mike D’Antoni, for a meeting that will include team owner Michael Jordan, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
A previous report, identifying Kenny Atkinson as the frontrunner for Charlotte’s coaching vacancy, indicated that Atkinson would be the first of the team’s candidates to meet with Jordan. According to Wojnarowski, that sit-down is expected to occur on Tuesday, with D’Antoni’s meeting coming later in the week.
Both Atkinson and D’Antoni have already met twice with Hornets management, but Jordan wasn’t involved in those first two rounds, Wojnarowski explains. After conducting their final round of interviews in the coming days with Jordan in attendance, the Hornets are expected to finalize a decision on who will replace James Borrego on the sidelines in Charlotte.
A pair of reports in mid-May stated that D’Antoni was believed to be the favorite for the Hornets’ job, though Marc Stein – who published one of those reports – later said he received some “push-back” on that idea. Subsequently, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report suggested D’Antoni may be Jordan’s preferred choice.
As of Friday, Terry Stotts was also believed to be in the running for the Hornets’ position, but it remains unclear whether he’ll get an opportunity to meet with Jordan.
D’Antoni, Atkinson and Stotts all have previous head coaching experience, and all three have helped turn lottery teams into playoff clubs. D’Antoni did it in Phoenix and New York, while Atkinson did it in Brooklyn and Stotts did it in Portland.
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