Steve Clifford has agreed to a deal to coach the Charlotte Hornets, returning for a second term, ESPN sources said on Friday.
Clifford, who led the franchise to two playoff appearances in a five-year series that ended in 2018, returns after Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson, who changed his mind to accept Charlotte’s job and instead decided to stay with the Warriors.
Clifford has always had a strong working relationship with Hornets owner Michael Jordan and fit the profile of what Jordan and general manager Mitch Kupchak wanted for this growing young squad: a coach who can improve them on defense and make them a team. for the playoffs. Clifford is respected among his colleagues as a coach and respected for maximizing talent on his roster in both Charlotte and Orlando.
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Clifford has met with property and management in recent days and quickly gained momentum for his candidacy to return, sources said.
The Hornets are also heavily considering Mike D’Antoni, who recently interviewed Jordan, sources said.
Long considered one of the best defense coaches in the NBA, Clifford will be tasked with improving this end of the field for a team from Charlotte, which finished among the bottom 10 teams in the NBA in defensive rankings three of the last four seasons – including the 23rd place ranking in 2021-22.
During his five seasons with the Hornets, Charlotte’s defense ranked in the top 10 three times. His defenses finished eighth and 11th in two of his three seasons as Magic coach.
Charlotte finished last season in the NBA’s eighth place and has a lot of firepower at this end of the field between star defender LaMelo Ball, free agent striker Miles Bridges, guard Terry Rosier and striker Gordon Hayward, among others.
The reunion between the Clifford and the Hornets came after the team initially agreed to a deal with Atkinson to replace James Borego, who was sacked in April after four seasons.
The 60-year-old Clifford went through 196-214 in five seasons during his first stay in the franchise, which saw him lead the Hornets to their best record since returning to the NBA in 2004 as an extended team when they reached 48. 34 in 2016, the Hornets lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Miami Heat in seven games that year.
He led Charlotte to two of his three playoff appearances in 18 seasons since returning to the league. Clifford’s 196 wins are the second in the franchise’s history after Alan Bristow, who coached the team in the early and mid-1990s. Clifford is equal to Bristow for the most coaching matches in the history of the franchise.
After Clifford was sacked by Charlotte in 2018, he was hired a few weeks later by Magic, whom he coached for three years – including consecutive playoff appearances in his first two seasons – before both sides agreed. to split after the 21-61 campaign in 2020-21. He spent last season as a consultant to Steve Nash at the Brooklyn Nets.
Clifford began his career as a coach at various colleges in the Northeast, then served as assistant coach at the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Magic and Los Angeles Lakers before being hired by the Hornets in 2013 for his first coaching job. .
Clifford’s agreement to coach the Hornets leaves a team – the Utah Jazz – without a head coach for next season, after longtime coach Quinn Snyder decided to retire from the team earlier this month.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.
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