Hornets (feels good to say that) hire Steve Clifford as coach

[carolina-chuck]

He wasn't always like that, he was one of the best players in the NBA when he was in Orlando and him and SVG weren't clashing.

 

Yea, agree. Howard started being immature his last year with Orlando. That was the only way he could get out. Its still hard to see that he picks us but money talk.

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

Clifford is obviously a players coach...

 

Looks like J.J. wants to come to Charlotte

 

JJ Redick: Huge congrats to Steve Clifford on getting the Charlotte head coaching job! Enjoyed working with him for 5 yrs in Orlando. Great hire. Twitter @JJRedick

 

Quentin Richardson might want to come to Charlotte too

 

Quentin Richardson: Congrats to Coach Steve Clifford on getting hired as Head Coach of the Charlotte Bobcats!Twitter @QRich

 

John Ireland is an L.A. sportscaster

 

John Ireland: Congrats to Lakers assistant Steve Clifford--new head coach in Charlotte. 1 of the rare guys in sports who everybody likes. Well deserved. Twitter @LAIreland

[teeray]

In the shotgun research I have done on this guy I have learned he is going to coach from the defensive side out and he is going to demand toughness from everyone, but especially our bigs.

 

I think I like this hire.  Hard to tell with assistants, but I would like to see us play more of our offense from the post, and to be tougher physically inside on both sides of the ball.

[Vagrant]

As much as I'd like to think of how awesome that would be when omitting the personality factor with Howard, I can't...  Dude is a train wreck, and I'd prefer not to blow all of our cap room on a guy that isn't sure he's a franchise player himself and defers both blame and responsibility on others constantly.

 

The thing about Howard is that he was fine in Orlando. He's not the first guy to lose his mind in a market too big for his personality. I am not a defender of his, but a move back to a small market may be exactly what the doctor ordered for him getting his focus back on basketball and away from the circus in LA. He was a professional on and off the court in Orlando until it went bad and he played there a long time. I'm sure that Charlotte will sniff out the options there, but I don't expect him to realistically consider playing here. It would be pretty obvious that he wanted to run away from pressure.

[KillerKat]

So this is good right?

[OchoNueve]

Love the NBA resume and references that have come along with the Clifford hire so far. 

 

2000–2001 New York Knicks (advance scout) 2001–2003 New York Knicks (assistant) 2003–2007 Houston Rockets (assistant) 2007–2012 Orlando Magic (assistant) 2012–2013 Los Angeles Lakers (assistant) 2013–present Charlotte Bobcats

 

Clifford has paid his dues (in the NBA) and seems to have been liked and well-respected at each place he coached (by both players and coaches).  He has a similar style of Tom Thibideau in emphasizing defense, hustle, and good fundamental basketball.  Most importantly, this is a guy that has been coveted by other teams currently searching for a head coach.  Clifford was a finalist for the Blazers coaching gig last season and has interviewed with the Suns and was scheduled to have his 2nd interview the the Bucks today before we inked him last night.

 

Whether Clifford is the right man for the job here is yet to be seen, but I think the pressure has now shifted to our front office in order to bring in some talent and allow a coach to actually have a few years to implement his system and culture to our organization instead of continuing the revolving door of coaches we have seen in previous seasons. 

 

How the Hornets spend there cap space in this coming offseason alone is going to forge our identity for the next 4-5 seasons as Cho has finally created the flexibility with our cap to go in multiple directions.  With the name change, cap room, multiple picks in the next 3 drafts, and our new hire of Clifford, I think the Hornets are going to continue to improve and become a perennial playoff team.   

[Proudiddy]

Another vote of confidence:

 

Hidayet Turkoglu: Congrats to Steve Clifford on becoming head coach for Charlotte! Hard working guy, well deserved. Twitter @hidoturkoglu15

 

Man, this is A LOT different than the Dunlap hire, where most tweets were like, "who the F is this guy?"

 

 

[Zod]

This is a solid hire. Young, eager, capable, and been with winning programs.

 

Name recognition isn't everything. Pat Riley started out as an announcer. Everyone starts somewhere.

[4Corners]

Any of you guys who think the Hornets are going to have a legitimate shot to sign Howard need to step back and take few deep breaths. Never going to happen. Why would it happen? 

[4Corners]

Another vote of confidence:

 

Hidayet Turkoglu: Congrats to Steve Clifford on becoming head coach for Charlotte! Hard working guy, well deserved. Twitter @hidoturkoglu15

 

Man, this is A LOT different than the Dunlap hire, where most tweets were like, "who the F is this guy?"

 

Yeah, I've at least heard of him. I watch much more college hoops than NBA, and I had never heard of Mike Dunlap. It looked like a desperation reach at the time and it looks like that's exactly what it was. The only person I recall who gave a good endorsement of Dunlap was George Karl. 

 

So it certainly looks like this has potential to be a good hire. They've got to get someone in here that can change the losing culture and get rid of the players on this team that care more about their bank account than winning %. 

[Zaximus]

Any of you guys who think the Hornets are going to have a legitimate shot to sign Howard need to step back and take few deep breaths. Never going to happen. Why would it happen? 

 

I doubt it happens, but, I wouldn't completely rule it out.  Howard obviously doesn't do well in large market areas, he's tried it, and his image has taken a beating, from the moment he started talking about his contract in Orlando to his tenure in LA.  He flouished in Orlando though, and was popular in the league and to my knowledge, wasn't whining or having issues.  It's possible he wants to go back to a smaller market team where the spotlight isn't so bright on him.  Not to mention bringing in those coaches that are closest to him.  We can also pay more than anyone minus Lakers I believe (extra year).

 

CP3 could come with him too, since they seem to want to play together and CP3 is from NC and also, the possible Jordan connection.

 

Obviously, I don't expect this to happen, at all, but there IS some signs, maybe they mean nothing, maybe they do.  But I know that if you bring even one of these guys in, seats WILL sell, merch WILL sale, and I have faith we can start selling out nights again in CLT.

[4Corners]

I doubt it happens, but, I wouldn't completely rule it out.  Howard obviously doesn't do well in large market areas, he's tried it, and his image has taken a beating, from the moment he started talking about his contract in Orlando to his tenure in LA.  He flouished in Orlando though, and was popular in the league and to my knowledge, wasn't whining or having issues.  It's possible he wants to go back to a smaller market team where the spotlight isn't so bright on him.  Not to mention bringing in those coaches that are closest to him.  We can also pay more than anyone minus Lakers I believe (extra year).

 

CP3 could come with him too, since they seem to want to play together and CP3 is from NC and also, the possible Jordan connection.

 

Obviously, I don't expect this to happen, at all, but there IS some signs, maybe they mean nothing, maybe they do.  But I know that if you bring even one of these guys in, seats WILL sell, merch WILL sale, and I have faith we can start selling out nights again in CLT.

 

Chris Paul is going to be one of those players that will ALWAYS be rumored as a potential Hornets FA target/landing spot. Doubt it ever happens. Maybe in like 10-12 years when he is about to retire and comes here for one season. Howard is not going to sign here, either. Why would he? He is in the prime of his career and I doubt he would want to waste his good years being a babysitter to an awful team that is a still 2-3 years away from seriously competing for the 7/8 playoff spot. I'd be willing to bet both of those players resign with their current teams. I could see Howard leaving but my money is on him resigning with the Lakers. 

 

I love your optimism bro, and I am much more excited about the franchise with the Hornets name coming back to where it belongs, too. I also know Higgins said they are going spend money this off season and sign a max level contract player. He said that in a very sneaky, almost deceitful way. What he really meant is he is going to sign a player to a max level offer/contract, which also means they are going to sign a mid level/up and coming player to a max contract. Not an elite player like Paul or Howard to a max level contract. 

[Zaximus]

Oh I don't see it happening, but there are more signs than just speculation, but yeah, doubt it happens.  But if both came here, we would instantly be playoff contendors, and I think even with the pieces we already have, we could make some noise, especially in the east.  But yeah, they'll probably stick around where they are, it's all fun to speculate though.

 

More realistically we can grab a big or two (Jefferson, Millsap, Hickson, etc) and pay fairly and have a respectable team.  Some people would rather tank though, but from how "lucky" we are with the lottery, I'm not completely a fan, it's not always guarenteed.

 

 

[carpanfan96]

I think the people here that are saying Howard isn't a possibility are under estimating how much Howard hates being in LA or big cities, as well as how much he actually respects Clifford. 

 

 

Clifford not coming back to LA, greatly lowers the chance of Howard resigning with the Lakers.