Nuggets assistant coach not on final shortlist for Hornets head coaching job
By Ben Handler
The Charlotte Hornets have been searching for a new head coach since the team announced that Steve Clifford would be transitioning to a role in the front office. The Hornets franchise was taken over by new owners this season and they’ve started a complete overhaul that has included shipping out veteran players like Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, and PJ Washington for draft equity.
The team also made a big splash in their front office, moving on from the legendary Mitch Kupchak and hiring a new President of Basketball Operations, Jeff Peterson. The final step of the youth movement in Charlotte is deciding on a new head coach to lead the rebuilding Hornets into the future, and the next era.
Hornets narrowing down their coaching search
The Hornets' initial coaching search included a number of young candidates, mostly young assistant coaches around the NBA. One of those names included Denver Nuggets assistant David Adelman, the son of former NBA head coach, Rick Adelman.
But now it’s being reported that the Hornets have narrowed their coaching search down to just two candidates; Charles Lee and JJ Redick. Lee is an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics, who served as an assistant with the Bucks for several years. Redick is a former player turned analyst who currently calls games for ESPN.
JJ Redick and Celtics lead assistant Charles Lee are viewed as the finalists for the Hornets’ head coach vacancy.
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) April 28, 2024
Redick, who has a strong desire to get into coaching, and Lee will have second interviews soon with Charlotte’s front office to decide. pic.twitter.com/qcjYrYuMDe
Adelman likely staying with the Nuggets for now
This would lead me to believe that Adelman is no longer being considered for the job. While he is a deserving candidate, and it would be good to see him get an opportunity, selfishly this is great news for the Nuggets. They’ve got a great coaching staff and this makes it much more likely they can keep it intact.
There has still been no official announcement or anything, and it’s of course, still possible the Hornets will wait and reconsider Adelman once the playoffs are over. But for now, it looks like they’re choosing to go in a different direction.
There will almost certainly be other job openings, but they have been filling up fast and at this point, if a team fires their coach they’ll probably be looking for a proven veteran, not a newcomer like Adelman. Until the next coaching cycle…