4 Perfect Head Coach Targets For Hornets After Steve Clifford
The Charlotte Hornets are making a coaching change at the end of the season. Here are four head coaches they need to consider.
By Cem Yolbulan
It has been a highly disappointing season for the Charlotte Hornets as they currently sit near the bottom of the Eastern Conference and head to the lottery for the eighth straight season. Steve Clifford, in his second tenure with the team, underwhelmed in a big way and the sides have decided to go their separate ways at the end of the season.
In Clifford's defense, the Hornets aren't the easiest team to build a winner. Not only are they young and inexperienced, but they also dealt with plenty of injuries once again. Lamelo Ball missed most of the season for the second straight year, Mark Williams have been out for months, and Terry Rozier, PJ Washington, and Gordon Hayward were traded in the middle of the season as part of the rebuild.
They brought in contributors like Tre Mann, Grant Williams, and Vasilije Micic at the trade deadline and they have all performed well but it hasn't been enough to make them competitive in the second half of the season.
Yet, there is still plenty of young talent with upside on this team. A healthy LaMelo Ball and improved Brandon Miller and Mark Williams could be the core trio of a competitive team.
The team needs a coach who can get the most out of that group. Here are four options that the Hornets should consider.
Jordi Fernandez
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Hornets are already talking to Jordi Fernandez for the opening. The Sacramento Kings assistant and the head coach of Team Canada, Fernandez has long been considered one of the most promising young coaches in the NBA.
ESPN Sources: The Hornets have secured permission to interview several assistants for franchise’s head coaching opening: Denver’s David Adelman, Sacramento’s Jordi Fernandez, Boston’s Charles Lee and Phoenix’s Kevin Young. More candidates are expected to be interviewed.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 4, 2024
A Spanish native, Fernandez has extensive assistant coaching experience in and outside the NBA and is ready for his first head coaching gig. Starting a new era with a young coach with upside might be exactly what the Hornets need.