Charlotte Hornets Steve Clifford just wants to win
By W.B. Whitted
Steve Clifford has been in a tough situation since coming back to the team for a second stint as the Charlotte Hornets’ head coach. His successor (and predecessor?) James Borrego had done an admirable job in the role. Borrego had come off his most prosperous season as a head coach, amassing a 43-39 record for the 2021-22 Hornets. In fact, were it not for a slew of injuries late, that team would’ve likely exceeded their play-in loss limitation.
That 52.4-win percentage that Borrego had his last season as head coach is higher than all but two of Clifford’s nine seasons as head coach. It isn’t entirely a reflection of Clifford, it’s just as much about who he is perceived to be whenever the music for the coach’s carousel starts to play. Clifford is a fixer.
Before images of Clifford dressed as Michel Clayton become a meme, it’s important to recognize what that means in head coaching terms in the NBA. Clifford is usually brought in to teach young, good players how to play in the NBA. He was brought into Charlotte (the first time) to a team that had won only 21 games the season before. The next season? The Charlotte Bobcats were back in the postseason for only the second time in that franchise’s history.
When he was brought into the Orlando Magic, they were coming off a 25-win season. With largely the same cast of characters, once Clifford got there, they were in the playoffs. Clifford had done it again. With a young roster (one of the least experienced in the league that year), a poor performance in the previous season, and no remarkable stars, Clifford had led another team to the postseason.
This is who Steve Clifford is. He wins in improbable scenarios. Then, after a time, he is called to another team–another reclamation project. He’s a hard hat away from having his own HGTV show.
The idea that he would entertain not playing the best players to gain an advantage in the draft simply doesn’t compute with who Clifford has shown himself to be. There were times throughout the season thus far that playing young players would make more sense in the long term. It would allow the franchise to learn more about players still figuring their games out, get them real-game experience, and likely garner the happy byproduct of losing for draft position.
It’s a win/win situation. Unless you’re Clifford. Unless you’re the winningest head coach in Charlotte Hornets’ history. No. There is nothing but THE win.
It’s also important to remember when Clifford was hired. He was hired before Miles Bridges got himself into trouble, and before the slew of injuries at the start of the season. This team wasn’t put together with the intention of missing the playoffs for a high lottery pick, no matter who that pick may become.
Despite the calls that may be coming from fans and pundits alike, Clifford is clear on his goals. His objective never changes. Coach his team to a victory every time the ball is tossed up at halfcourt. It’s how he’s made his living as a head coach his entire career. It’ll be what he points to whenever he’s interviewed about the job he’s done in Charlotte. What happens when the job someone was hired for changes after the contract is signed? For Clifford, the job never changes, nor does the importance of winning.