The Charlotte Hornets announced that Boston Celtics assistant coach Charles Lee will be the team’s new head coach. He will remain with the Celtics throughout the playoffs and take over once the playoffs have ended. Lee had been mentioned as a potential candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coaching vacancy.
Prior to this season with the Celtics, Lee had been a long-time assistant under Mike Budenholzer, another potential Lakers coaching candidate, with both the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, helping to lead the Bucks to the 2021 NBA Championship.
Hornets Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson expressed his excitement for what Lee will bring to their franchise, via NBA.com:
“We are excited to welcome Charles Lee as the head coach of Charlotte Hornets,” said Peterson. “His high character and his ability to connect with players while also instilling a culture of accountability will serve us well as we construct a competitive team built for long-term success. Charles possesses a championship pedigree with a wide range of basketball knowledge and NBA experience, has a tremendous work ethic and is a great communicator. He shares our vision for this organization, and I look forward to partnering with him in building something special here in the Carolinas. I can’t wait for our Hornets community to meet Charles, his wife Lindsey and his beautiful daughters, and feel Charles’ passion for the game and the intensity of his desire to win.”
Lee had long been marked as one of the NBA’s top assistants and a future head coaching candidate, hence why he was mentioned as a possibility for the Lakers. But with the Lakers just getting started on their own coaching search, Lee preferred to take this opportunity in Charlotte.
This announcement also means that JJ Redick, who also interviewed and was a finalist for the Hornets job, is still a possibility for the Lakers position. As it currently stands, the Lakers are one of just two teams without a head coach, along with the Washington Wizards.
Lakers ‘taking their time’ with head coaching search
While the Hornets have already made their decision, the Lakers likely won’t be making an announcement on their new head coach anytime soon.
The latest report on the Lakers head coaching vacancy noted that the team is ‘taking their time’ with their search. The report also noted that the Lakers are apparently putting a premium on experience within this search, but won’t be limited to that and will be open to candidates of different experience levels.
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