Hornets Ready to Pivot with New Coach, Draft Picks Onboard

In his first head coaching role, Lee now helms a franchise with the longest playoff drought in the league, as the Hornets haven’t participated in the postseason since 2016. Has he learned enough in his previous stops to not only snap that drought but take a franchise that has lost its way and make them relevant again? 

Charlotte media packed the house for Lee’s introductory press conference on June 25 — interspersed among them were current players like LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Grant Williams, alongside other team staff and those who wanted to support the new arrival. 

Hornets Executive VP of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson emphasized Lee’s integrity, adding that he was an excellent communicator. Peterson also cited the two championships Lee has helped win over a two-year span as an assistant coach with Milwaukee in 2020-’21 and in his one season with Boston. 

He cited his previous experience working with Lee in Atlanta as well as conversations with people in the Milwaukee and Boston organizations that helped him make his decision. 

For his part, Lee expressed that even saying he was the coach of the Charlotte Hornets gave him chills, glowing as he talked about it onstage that day. 

We asked Lee what he learned from working with Boston and their smothering defense, and what he could take from them to a team that is weak on that side of the ball to turn them into a perennial playoff team and eventual contender. 

“There are a lot of things I think you can take from it,” he said, “but I think our personnel is a little different, so we’re going to find a way to have our own identity defensively. 

Lee listed three priorities for his staff moving forward: effort, communication and an open-minded approach to new defensive strategies. 

“That doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to change coverages all the time, just to be open-minded to different strategies and different matchups we may have and, no matter what scheme we’re in, we’ll have effort and communication.” 

Lee added that the most important things he’s learned during his time as an assistant coach of multiple successful teams have been related to relationships, consistency, daily improvement, and togetherness. 

“Part of that togetherness is having a group of guys that want to go to battle with each other every night,” he said. “The preparation that we’re going to put in with each other is so important. Part of what excites me about this opportunity is those guys that are sitting over there. I appreciate them being here today and this is part of the togetherness that a lot of us have talked about, as we’ve had conversations and they’re here to support me today.” 

Hornets players appear to have taken to Lee early on; Brandon Miller, Mark Williams and Grant Williams were even seen in Boston’s locker room celebrating with Lee following the Celtics’ championship win on June 18. 

One question that seemed to catch the new coach off guard related to analytics, with Peterson chiming in to answer how analytics will play into Lee’s formula for success both on and off the court. 

“I think the analytics, they are definitely going to be a part of our decision-making process as we think about team and as we think about a scouting report,” Peterson said, “but I’m going to say from my side it’s not going to ultimately be the last determining factor. I think that there’s an eye test that we have to go through … There’s so many other factors that I think have to go into the decision-making process, but there is a piece of analytics that we’ll consider.” 

NBA Draft night 

The last week of June was a busy one for the Hornets, who held a second press conference on June 28 to introduce their two new draft picks, Tidjane Salaun and KJ Simpson. 

Salaun is a part of the French invasion spearheaded by last year’s arrival of Victor Wembanyama and continuing in this draft with three of the first six picks, including the top two, coming from France. 

Selected at No. 6 by the Hornets, Salaun flew up the draft board compared to speculation. There was talk leading up to the draft that Memphis wanted to move to the No. 6 spot for Connecticut center Donovan Clingan, who ended up going No. 7 to Portland. 

Could the Hornets have acquired additional assets and still got their guy at No. 9? We’ll never know. A few mock drafts had Salaun going to San Antonio, where he would join fellow countryman and friend Wembanyama, with the No. 8 pick, so the Hornets can’t be blamed for holding their location. 

“[Salaun] is the guy that we had organizational alignment and conviction in from the very beginning,” said Peterson. “Youngest player in the draft, a ton of upside, great frame. He’s an urgent competitor, especially on the defensive end. He’s flying around, he’s athletic, so he can alter shots.” 

We asked Peterson whether choosing a player so young — Salaun is 18 — will affect the timeline for the team. 

“I wouldn’t think the timeline changes,” he replied. “We’re going to be incredibly patient, thorough and diligent — very creative and opportunistic in terms of how we build this thing out. We’re just not going to sit here and just try to make the playoffs in one season and then miss the playoffs for four, five seasons in a row after that. We want to get there and have sustained success.” 

That answer tells me that making the playoffs in the upcoming season isn’t all that important to Peterson, and I’m guessing that with both of them new to the job, ownership has let them know they will have time to get it right instead of being pressured into creating immediate results. 

D will be key in new season 

One thing that I don’t have to speculate about: Defense will be the focus of this coaching staff

moving into Summer League and then training camp. In fact, Lee was already trying to hammer that home to his two new rookies as they sat onstage at their introductory press conference in June. 

“Defense, let that sink in fellas,” he said, coaching them before they even got on the court. 

Unfortunately, the buzz created on draft day lost some luster in early July, when the Hornets announced that Simpson, the 6-foot point guard taken with the second-round, 42nd overall pick, has a hamstring injury that will cause him to miss the entire Summer League. 

Simpson apparently suffered the injury in the “pre-draft process,” meaning the Hornets already knew about it and felt good enough about his recovery to take him anyway. 

Salaun also suffered a minor laceration to his knee, but is expected to be ready to play. Hopefully the injury bug that has plagued Charlotte over the past two seasons isn’t rearing its ugly head again. 

The Hornets also added a former first-round draft pick in Josh Green from Dallas for a couple of second-round picks. He’s a versatile player with length and defensive upside that can help at both the guard line and wing. 

Though it took a while, Adrian Wojnarowski announced on July 6 that Miles Bridges will be back, agreeing to a three-year, $75-million contract. Keeping him in the fold prevents the team from taking a large step back from last year. 

On July 15, Peterson announced that the team had re-signed guard Seth Curry, bringing back the hometown kid who the team waived following the draft for purposes of restructuring his salary. Curry came to Charlotte in a trade with Dallas in February, playing in eight games before injuring his ankle, which ended his season. 

As the team’s 2024-’25 roster begins to take shape, Peterson is promising Hornets fans a brighter future than what’s been seen in Charlotte for years now. 

“The things we can promise from this team is they’re going to be very competitive,” he said. “They’re going to be very together and we’re going to be focused on what we can control, which is going to be our daily progress, process and effort. That is what I can promise.”