Ex-Celtics assistant Charles Lee becomes next head coach of the Hornets

At 39-years of age, Charles Lee will get his first chance to head coach in the NBA, as the former Celtics assistant will take over the role in Charlotte this upcoming season. Despite his lack of experience leading the pack, he’s already been part of two championship teams; the Bucks’ 2021 title and this past week’s NBA Finals win in Boston. 

When asked if he was ready, we found out that Lee is somewhat of a traditional romantic, as he said he only needs his family close to him in order to thrive. But when talking about the Hornets’ roster, he sees pure potential by calling them a “talent-rich group.”

“We have a very, very good team here,” Charles said. “We’ve been snakebit with some injuries. … But this group is focused on the right things. The expectations are that we are going to compete every night, whether it’s a home game, road game or whoever is playing. This is going to be a group that is together offensively and defensively, no matter who is on the floor.”

Coach Charles Lee has landed in Charlotte! pic.twitter.com/9uDaJe6HQI

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) June 25, 2024

When asked about why Lee was chosen to take on this responsibility, Hornets general manager Jeff Peterson said he was “blown away” by him during the interview, which was later confirmed by references given about him by both Celtics and Bucks organizations. 

“He’s an excellent communicator,” Peterson shared. “He’s competitive. He’s constantly trying to figure out ways to get better. I know that at night he goes to sleep thinking, ‘How can I make the Charlotte Hornets better?’ And, he’s a winner.”

Grant Williams, for example, who now plays for Charlotte, is convinced that Lee has the winning mentality needed to stimulate this locker room. “It definitely carries some weight, some respect, because he knows what it takes to win it all.

“He was the associate head coach on both championship teams, so he had a direct impact in the development and style of play,” Williams recalled. “He’s been around a lot of greats and he will do wonders for guys like LaMelo and Brandon, who are trying to be special.”

The new Hornets coach didn’t offer any guarantees about the Hornets club returning to the playoffs soon

Lee wants to keep expectations healthy in Charlotte, and wasn’t willing to give any guarantees or timelines about when his new squad will make it once again to an NBA postseason. However, he did say he likes players with ambition and will encourage whoever shows strong character. 

“What I can say to the fans is that when I went through the interview process, Gabe, Rick and Jeff made it clear they want this to be one of the NBA’s premier franchises,” he said. “… The things that we can promise from this team is that they’re going to be very competitive, they are going to be focused on what we can control with our daily progress, process and effort.”

As the team from North Carolina badly needs to rebuild themselves after years of poor competitions, Grant Williams assured that there is a feeling around the Hornets camp that says that they are about to turn things around for the franchise. 

“The energy is shifting here. You can just feel the vibe,” the veteran expressed this week. “And I think people are going to be really shocked here by how soon it is going to happen.”