6:27pm: The Hornets have officially named Clifford their head coach, per a team press release.
“We are pleased to welcome Steve back to our franchise,” said Kupchak. “We believe that his previous experience and coaching philosophy make him the best coach for our team. Steve has a proven track record of improving defenses and is detail oriented. He has a history of maximizing players’ talent and working with them to develop and expand their skill sets. Steve is committed to playing with the same offensive pace that our fans are accustomed to seeing the last few years. We are confident that he will be able to help our young players continue to grow as we look to take the next step as a team.”
4:33pm: The Hornets are hiring Steve Clifford to be their head coach for a second time, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Marc Stein reported yesterday morning that Clifford had unexpectedly emerged as a serious candidate to replace James Borrego, who was fired after the team lost in the play-in tournament for the second consecutive season. Roderick Boone and Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer reported this morning that Clifford met with GM Mitch Kupchak and owner Michael Jordan earlier this week.
Clifford will receive a “multi-year” contract, Boone tweets.
The Hornets were reportedly looking for a veteran head coach who could help improve the team’s defense, and Clifford has a long-held reputation as one of the better defensive tacticians in the league. Across his eight seasons as a head coach, Clifford’s clubs were top 10 in defensive rating five times.
Clifford, 60, previously coached the Hornets from 2013-18, compiling an overall record of 196-214. He took the club to the postseason in 2014 and 2016 — those are Charlotte’s only playoff appearances since 2010.
After his stint with the Hornets, Clifford was hired by Orlando to be their head coach, accumulating a 96-131 record from 2018-2021, including a couple of postseason trips in his first two seasons. His overall record with the Magic is a little deceptive, as Orlando pivoted into a full rebuild in his final season, when the team went 21-51.
Clifford was a long-time assistant prior to becoming a head coach, with stops in New York, Houston, Orlando and Los Angeles from 2000-2013. He was a consultant with the Nets last season.
Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, formerly the head coach of the Nets, had previously reached an agreement to become the Hornets’ new coach, but backed out of the deal and never signed the contract, thus re-starting the club’s coaching search.
Mike D’Antoni, who was said to be meeting with Jordan this week, was reportedly a finalist during both searches. There were conflicting reports on whether Terry Stotts was also a finalist before the team reached a deal with Atkinson — Stein wrote that D’Antoni was the “only other known finalist” at that point, but other outlets suggested he was still in the mix late in the process.
random as hell
#cringe
Lol
Feel bad for Hornets fans. This has to be some cruel joke
I guess Clifford hasn’t kept up his 2k rating.
As for the game that’s played on a court, Clifford is a solid coach. He was the CHA HC the last two times they were in the playoffs, and the ORL HC the last two times they were. Both were worse before and after. You’d think even the uninitiated would understand that there must be a reason for that.
No go on Stotts ay?
Retreads
Now this is the epitome retread.
You mean your comment?
Why? Did you actually like this hire?
What?? This came outta left field
content://com.brave.browser.FileProvider/images/screenshot/1656113196276889890236.jpg
It’s a happy Clifford!
Hornets have boosted their defense with Clifford & Mark Williams… On track to keep Bridges… Looking up, still.
Having a shotblocker means they can start the better shooter, Cody Martin or Hayward, not Oubre or PJW. Last year’s rookies have talent, and Bridges is 23 and Ball 20, so youth & offense is in place…
It will be hard to sign both Bridges & Martin.
I tried a picture of Clifford smiling. Not sure the pic is working.
Geez that’s embarrassing
Yes, so much for pictures.
The Grover Cleveland of head coaches
MJ is a terrible owner. If they didn’t luck into the Warriors passing up Lamelo things would be even more bleak.
Spring 2025: Alright, clearly we should bring back James Borrego!
Did LaVar Ball turn the job down too?
How does the same man (Jordan) that demands the absolute best from everyone else settle for mediocrity as an NBA owner? This is a “been there done that”. Why repeat?
Hornets being the Hornets.
Err Jordan does it again
A championship winning defense minded coach (Vogel) was available, and the Hornets didn’t even talk to him.
Well, at least they drafted a big man…
Clifford led the same magic team(that voguel had before he got fired) to the playoffs. Clifford is tailor made for mediocre teams like the kings , magic, hornets , etc.
Vogel only had 2 years there. Same Magic team, except starting PG Elfrid Peyton was gone, replaced by DJ Augustin, and instead of the 57 game maximum played by the starters for Vogel due to injuries, Vucevic, Fournier and Augustin played 80-81 games each, with Gordon at 78. Then after the 1st rd loss, the next 2 seasons Clifford led the Magic to 33-40 and then 21-51 .
He should never have been let go just like Borrego. And the only reason he’s coming back is because he’s the cheapest.
“Damm, damm, damm.”
– Stephen A. Smith
This is the fattest L a team can get. Told to go away by candidate, spurned other possible hires, stuck with guy they don’t rally want #jokefranchise