Hornets hire Lakers assistant Chris Jent to Charles Lee's staff
By Evan Sidery
New Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee is about to be coaching in the NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics, but he’s still putting together what is turning into an underrated staff for his first lead gig.
Lee has brought aboard Utah Jazz assistant Lamar Skeeter, Chicago Bulls assistant Josh Longstaff and now Los Angeles Lakers assistant Chris Jent. According to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer earlier this week, Jent rounds out Lee’s lead assistants surrounding him.
Jent was most recently with the Lakers, but he also was a head coach previously in the G League. Lee and Jent crossed paths with the Atlanta Hawks working under Mike Budenholzer as Jent was an assistant there from 2017-2022.
The Budenholzer influence on Lee’s staff is immense. Not only were Jent and Lee former co-workers in Atlanta, but so was Longstaff. At the same time, Hornets co-owner Rick Schnall and new general manager Jeff Peterson were also in the Hawks organization.
Alignment is so crucial for any organization, especially one trying to finally snap a decade-long postseason drought in short order. Since the regular season ended, Charlotte has shown they are all in agreement on what the next steps for the organization look like. Having Lee's staff done with swift succession shows that, too.
Now, with the ability to fully examine the Hornets’ coaching staff, there’s a lot of potential with this group. Jent, age-54, by far has the most experience on the assistant front, which includes over 20 years at the position. Meanwhile, the age of Lee, Skeeter and Longstaff all suggest a youthful infusion with a primary focus on player development for the Hornets’ young core of talent spearheaded by LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Mark Williams.
Charlotte now officially has their revamped front office and coaching staff in place with the 2024 NBA Draft less than a month away. All indications are the Hornets got their No. 1 target in their coaching search with Lee, and his rave reviews across the league have fans enthused for a new era.
Stay tuned to Swarm & Sting for all the latest Hornets news for what is expected to be an extremely important offseason ahead for the franchise.