Five NBA assistants Hornets could consider for head-coaching opening

This has not been a season to recollect in Charlotte, the place the Hornets have performed with out star LaMelo Ball for all however 22 video games. By the primary two days of April, the staff is 18-57 and thirteenth within the Jap Convention.

Now comes information that head coach Steve Clifford will not be back subsequent season, that means that the Brooklyn Nets (presently guided by interim Kevin Ollie), Washington Wizards (now below the path of interim Brian Keefe) and Hornets can have new head coaches by the start of the 2024-2025 season. 

The NBA is commonly described as a league (outdoors of San Antonio, Golden State and Miami) using a perpetual teaching carousel, which is admittedly not inaccurate. 

Clifford changed James Borrego in 2022, returning to the franchise he coached below Michael Jordan’s possession from 2013-2018. 

Of the 11 coaches in Hornets historical past, solely Dave Cowens (1996-1999) at 109-70 and Allan Bristow (1991-1996) at 207-203 have successful data. This spring, the staff will miss the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.

Who will probably be subsequent?

Listed below are 5 present NBA assistant coaches who could be match:

Boston Celtics assistant Charles Lee 

The lead assistant for the league-leading Celtics, Joe Mazzulla’s right-hand man has additionally been part of the Milwaukee Bucks staff that went to the 2021 NBA Finals (he spent 5 seasons in Milwaukee) and Atlanta Hawks, the place he spent 4 seasons and helped lead the Hawks to 4 playoff appearances.

Sacramento Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez 

The lead assistant below Mike Brown with the Kings, Fernandez can also be the top coach of Canada’s nationwide staff, which defeated the USA eventually 12 months’s FIBA World Cup within the Philippines.

Fernandez was head coach of the Canton Cost within the G League earlier than spending six seasons as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets and 4 seasons as a participant growth coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He additionally has been an assistant coach on the Nigerian nationwide staff.

Phoenix Suns assistant Kevin Younger

An assistant with the Suns who helped information the staff to the NBA Finals in 2021, Younger is in his fourth season with Phoenix and his third as affiliate head coach. He additionally spent 9 seasons as a coach within the NBA G
League, together with time as head coach of the Delaware Blue Coats, Iowa Power and Utah Flash. 

Miami Warmth assistant Chris Quinn 

A giant a part of “Warmth Tradition,” Quinn was a participant for the Warmth after leaving Notre Dame and has performed a significant function in Miami’s growth
program. He served as assistant coach/director of participant growth for 4 seasons (2016-
20) after spending his first two years as an assistant coach of participant growth. He additionally labored with
Miami’s NBA G League staff, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, as an assistant coach throughout his first 12 months with
the membership.

Washington Wizards assistant David Vanterpool 

An assistant with the Washington Wizards who’s talked about as a candidate virtually each time there’s a head-coaching opening, Vanterpool (who performed briefly within the NBA in 2001 with Washington), spent final season as an assistant coach with Brooklyn, two seasons prior as an affiliate head coach in Minnesota and 7 seasons as an assistant in Portland.