The Hornets have been granted permission to interview a handful of assistant coaches from around the NBA for their head coaching vacancy, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports that Charles Lee (Celtics), Jordi Fernandez (Kings), Kevin Young (Suns) and David Adelman (Nuggets) will speak to Charlotte.
Additional candidates are expected to be interviewed for the position, Wojnarowski adds.
Lee, Fernandez and Young were cited as possibilities when Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday that Steve Clifford would be stepping down as head coach and moving into an advisory role with the Hornets. Adelman was later added to the list of potential candidates by Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
Lee, 39, got his start in Atlanta under Mike Budenholzer and later went with him to Milwaukee, winning a championship as a Bucks assistant in 2021. Lee, who has interviewed for several different head coaching jobs, joined Boston last summer after Budenholzer was fired by the Bucks.
Fernandez, who started in Denver before becoming Mike Brown‘s associate head coach in Sacramento, led the Canadian national team to a bronze medal at the 2023 World Cup. He’s another young coach (he’s 41) who has been a popular candidate for head coaching vacancies the past couple years.
Young, 42, has been with Phoenix since 2020 and was a finalist for the team’s head coaching job last year when Monty Williams was let go. The position ultimately went to Frank Vogel, but Young was retained on a deal that made him the highest-paid assistant in the league (he’s technically the associate head coach).
Adelman, also 42, is Michael Malone‘s top assistant in Denver and has served as interim head coach a few times. He has drawn praise from Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon for his coaching acumen. Adelman, who interviewed for Toronto’s vacancy last year, is the son of longtime former NBA head coach Rick Adelman.
A small editing note: Adelman has “served” as interim head coach in Denver, not “severed.”
Thanks. No clue what happened on that one.
Just my opinion,
Hornets should wait until this summer. A lot of coaches are likely to get fired.
Monty Williams and Doc Rivers might be available.
Mind boggles me that we might see Monty Williams moved . Even the best coach couldn’t fix Detroit this year . If both himself and the Detroit front office is patient he could still be the best fit for them
Why the heck would they want the Hornets job? smh
Having seen Rick Adelman as a rookie, knowing his son is 42 makes me feel really, really old.
They need a young coach and need to give them time.
Charles Lee is my choice. But would he even want the job?
I was in Little League with David Adelman when Rick was coaching the Warriors. He was a cool kid