CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Hornets have named Charles Lee as their next head coach.
The 39-year-old coach joined the Hornets after serving as head coach of the Boston Celtics. Lee is expected to join the Hornets full-time following the Celtics’ playoff run. Lee spent five seasons under Mike Budenholzer before joining the Celtics last summer.
Lee replaces Steve Clifford, who announced before the end of the regular season that he would step down as Hornets manager after completing his second term at the club. The Hornets recorded 21 wins and 61 losses this season, tied with the Portland Trail Blazers for third place in the league.
“The Hornets have a talented young core of players and I’m excited about our future and what we can build from here,” Lee said. “There is no place more passionate about basketball than Carolina and I look forward to coming to Charlotte and getting to work.”
Lee inherited a team that had not made the playoffs in the last eight seasons, the longest drought in the league. Charlotte hasn’t won a playoff series in 22 years, including more than a decade when NBA great Michael Jordan was owner.
Jordan sold the Hornets to Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin last year.
The co-owners have been busy since, including replacing the resigned general manager Mitch Kupchak with Jeff Peterson.
Lee will work with Peterson to oversee the rebuild.
“His high character and ability to connect with players while instilling a culture of accountability will serve us well and ensure we have a competitive team built for long-term success,” Peterson said in a press release. “Charles has a championship pedigree with extensive basketball knowledge and NBA experience, has a tremendous work ethic and is a great communicator. He shares our vision for this organization and we look forward to working with him to build something special here in Carolina.”
The Hornets traded Gordon Hayward to Oklahoma City, Terry Rozier to Miami and PJ Washington to Dallas before the deadline in a trade that brought Tre Mann, Vasa Micic, Grant Williams, Seth Curry and Davis Bertans to Charlotte.
The Hornets have plenty of young talent, including last year’s second overall pick Brandon Miller, 2022 All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball and center Mark Williams, but the latter two have had trouble staying on the court due to injuries. Miller averaged 17.3 points per game and shot 37% on 3-pointers during his rookie year.
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