Charlotte Hornets: The case for keeping Steve Clifford

As the recent firings of Nick Nurse and Mike Budenholzer have shown, the shelf life for any NBA coach not named Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, or Erik Spoelstra is incredibly short. Beyond the select group of coaches with the built-up cache to withstand a down year or two, no coach in the association is immune from being let go, even when they have a championship to their name. Why then should the Charlotte Hornets be interested in keeping Steve Clifford, who not only has no championships to his credit but has never even coached a team to a playoff series victory? The answer to that question requires a more holistic evaluation than the typical black-and-white, wins-and-losses point of view that so often dominates these types of discussions.

In a tumultuous year for the Charlotte Hornets, Steve Clifford provided a symbol of stability

To cast all of the blame for Charlotte’s 27-55 record this season on Clifford would be doing a disservice to the circumstances under which Clifford was forced to operate. Miles Bridges, Charlotte’s leading scorer in 2022, was arrested mere days after Clifford arrived. Second-year guard James Bouknight was arrested before the season began. LaMelo Ball missed 46 games, Gordon Hayward and Kelly Oubre Jr. missed 32 and 34 games, respectively, and Cody Martin missed essentially the entire season. It became clear early on that 2023 would not be defined by wins and losses for the Hornets but instead would be defined by the creation of a team identity and the individual development of the Charlotte Hornets’ young core.

That team identity was apparent as the season wore on. In 19 games between February 13th and March 29th, Charlotte went 11-8 thanks to their newfound stingy defense.

2023 also saw individual development from a host of Hornets. Dennis Smith Jr., the lottery pick turned journeyman, rediscovered himself in Charlotte and saved his career in the process. Nick Richards, believed by some to be a bust before the year, performed well enough to earn a multi-year contract extension. Mark Williams, who arrived in Charlotte in a somewhat disappointing fashion (some fans wanted Jalen Duren, who the Hornets traded away on draft night), went on to record 11 double-doubles, the most by a Charlotte rookie since Raymond Felton in 2006. P.J. Washington started in all 73 games in which he played and averaged a career-high 15.7 points per game, likely securing his long-term future with the Hornets in the process.

Keeping Steve Clifford would give the Charlotte Hornets continuity with a coach who understands the challenges of the job

If the Hornets do decide to move in a different direction with their head coaching position, it will mean that they will be on their third head coach in as many years. With a 21-year-old franchise point guard and a host of other young building blocks, there is something to be said for continuity. With Miles Bridges likely returning to the lineup next season and with the Hornets slated to add a high-level talent via the draft this offseason, giving Clifford another year would be a fairer way to evaluate his coaching performance than simply analyzing the one season in which the deck was essentially stacked against him from the beginning.

Clifford also understands the job as well as anyone, as he currently holds the records for most games (492) and most wins (223) of any Hornets coach. It is clear that Clifford appreciates the opportunity to coach in Charlotte, something that is not a given for every candidate. After the debacle of a coaching search last offseason including the embarrassment of being left at the altar by Kenny Atkinson, Clifford was willing to step into adverse circumstances and did so with a franchise that had fired him just four years earlier. With the Hornets potentially being sold in the months to come, a new ownership group may want to hire their own coach to try to lead Charlotte back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. However, the coach best suited to get the Hornets back to the playoffs may just be the same coach who led them there in their most recent appearance.