By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Steve Clifford is stepping down as the Charlotte Hornets head coach at the end of the season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
The 62-year-old coach is reportedly working to finalize a front-office role with the team, and he informed his associates and players of his decision.
Charlotte’s new EVP of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson and co-owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin were open to bringing him back as coach next season, but Clifford, 62, decided he wasn’t prepared to commit to the year-round grind of head coaching for the 2024-2025 season.
Therefore, the Hornets are looking for a new head coach, and Wojnarowski adds that among the league’s assistant coaching candidates expected to be considered in the Charlotte process is Sacramento King’s Jordi Fernandez, alongside Boston’s Charles Lee, Miami’s Chris Quinn, Phoenix’s Kevin Young, and others.
Steve Clifford took over the Hornets in 2022 and ended his first season with the team with a 27-55 record. This season, amid many trades and injuries, the team focused on younger players and gave the chance to Vasilije Micic, Aleksej Pokusevski, and Davis Bertans.