After leading a 48-116 record across the past two seasons, the Charlotte Hornets and Steve Clifford decided to part ways. This sent the Hornets front office into a deep dive, searching for their next head coach who could take a young roster brimming with potential and shape them into a contender.
Now, just weeks after their coaching search officially tipped off, the Hornets have made their hire.
Charlotte Hornets hire Charles Lee: Who is he?
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Charlotte Hornets have hired top Boston Celtics assistant Charles Lee to be their next head coach. Lee has agreed to a four-year deal.
Interestingly, Lee, 39, re-joins executive president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson, who worked with Lee in Atlanta.
But the two went their separate ways as they ascended in their basketball careers elsewhere. Now, they’re both at the head of the proverbial snake, this time in Charlotte.
While Lee’s Celtics are still going strong in their chase to win the franchise’s 18th NBA Championship, he won’t begin his duties with the Hornets until Boston’s season is finished.
Lee originally joined the Celtics last summer, where he became Joe Mazzulla’s top assistant after spending five years in the same role under Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta and Milwaukee, including their 2021 NBA Finals win.
Beginning his career at Bucknell in 2012, Lee has since worked in Atlanta and Milwaukee, where he developed a reputation for being a rising star in the coaching industry. Now he’ll finally get a chance to show what he can do, and the Hornets see him as the perfect person to maximize LaMelo Ball’s skillset in Charlotte.