The Hornets and coach Steve Clifford agreed to an extension with guaranteed salary through the 2018/19 season, and the pact includes a team option for 2019/20. Clifford’s contract had been set to expire at season’s end. Charlotte missed the playoffs last season after the disastrous signing of Lance Stephenson in the summer of 2014, knocking the shine off the success Charlotte enjoyed in the 2013/14 season, its first with Clifford as head coach. That year, the then-Bobcats went to the postseason for just the second time in franchise history. It was a quick turnaround for a team that in 2011/12 finished 7-59, the worst winning percentage in NBA history. The Heat swept Charlotte in the first round of the playoffs in the spring of 2014, and Clifford is only 84-94 in the regular season during his time in charge of the Bobcats/Hornets, who gave him his first NBA head coaching gig. He’d previously served as an assistant for the Knicks, Rockets, Magic and Lakers.
Here’s more from the week that was…
Signings
- The Suns signed Bryce Cotton, who was playing for the D-League affiliate of the Spurs.
- Small forward Austin Daye signed with the Italian club Victoria Libertas Pesaro.
- Doron Lamb, who was waived by the Mavericks during training camp in 2014, signed with Buducnost in Montenegro.
D-League News
- Jimmer Fredette rejoined the D-League affiliate of the Knicks after clearing waivers from the Pelicans.
- Former Nuggets point guard Erick Green signed with the NBA D-League and was claimed via the league’s waiver process by the Reno Bighorns.
- Former Kings point guard David Stockton rejoined Sacramento’s D-League affiliate. The team released Kings camp cut Marshall Henderson to make room for Stockton’s addition.
You can stay up to date on all the D-League assignments and recalls for the season here.
Miscellaneous News
- Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas is expected to miss about six weeks with a fracture in his left hand.
- Former first-round pick Jordan Hamilton, who finished last season with the Clippers, left the Russian club Krasny Oktyabr, aka Volgograd.
- Knicks camp cut DaJuan Summers, who plays for the team’s D-League affiliate, suffered an injury to his left Achilles tendon and will miss the remainder of the season.