By Jordan Long
The Charlotte Hornets are still looking for a Head Coach to replace James Borrego. It is believed Mike D’Antoni is the favorite, but he hasn’t been hired yet. The Hornets are still interviewing for the job.
Darvin Ham and Kenny Atkinson are going to interview for a second time. Out of the two, Atkinson is the better of the two. Ham has never been an NBA Head Coach. He has been an assistant in the NBA for the past 11 years. His stops include the L.A. Lakers, Atlanta Hawks, and Milwaukee Bucks. Ham was with the Lakers from 2011 to 2013. He was in Atlanta in 2013. His time ended in 2018. Since 2018 he has been with the Milwaukee Bucks on Mike Budenholzer’s staff.
Ham deserves a look. He helped the Bucks as an assistant reach the postseason the past 4 years. Of course, they won the NBA Championship in 2021. The only reason why the Hornets may not hire him is his lack of NBA Head Coaching experience.
Atkinson makes more sense than Ham. Atkinson has NBA Head Coaching practice with the Brooklyn Nets. It was only 4 years, from 2016 to 2020. In that time the Nets earned a playoff spot once, 2019. Overall Atkinson went 118-190, a winning percentage of .383.
Two other candidates are going to interview for the job, Frank Vogel and Terry Stotts. Both have been head coaches in this league. Vogel would bring in 11 years of Head Coaching knowledge to the Hornets. Vogel coached the Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, and the L.A. Lakers. His overall record is 431-389, a winning percentage of .526. His teams earned a playoff spot 7 times. Of course, he won the NBA Championship in the bubble with the Lakers in 2020. Vogel was let go following a 33-49 record this year.
Stotts is also a coach who the Hornets should consider. Stotts spent 13 seasons as an NBA Head Coach. His stops include Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Portland. He was most successful in Portland. Stotts was there from 2012 to 2021. Portland earned a playoff spot in 8 of his 9 years. He was fired following the first-round playoff series loss to the Denver Nuggets in 2021
Stotts could be the coach the Hornets are looking for. The Hornets have a young superstar in LaMelo Ball whose game is only going to improve in this league. Stotts knows how to coach a player of Ball’s caliber. In Portland, he had Damian Lillard. Stotts may be the key to turning the Hornets’ franchise around.
The Hornets seem to be taking their time. That is not a bad idea. They want to make sure the next coach they hire can help them win games with the goal of an NBA championship. The Hornets haven’t won a playoff series since 2002. That was the year before the franchise moved to New Orleans. Of course, Charlotte got a team back in 2004 but they were an expansion team. In 2002 they knocked off the Orlando Magic in the first round which was a best of 5, 3-1. They are anticipating ending that drought.
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