Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee was hired in May of 2024 after previously serving as an assistant coach of the Boston Celtics for the 2023-24 campaign.
Before joining Boston, Lee was an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks (2018-23) and Atlanta Hawks (2014-18), serving with former Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer in both Milwaukee and Atlanta.
Hornets Haven’t Made The Playoffs Since 2016
In April of 2024, then-Hornets coach Steve Clifford announced 2023-24 would be his final season. He left Charlotte as the winningest coach in franchise history, coaching a team-record 577 games and amassing 244 wins.
The Hornets finished 19-63 (.232) last season, 21-61 (.256) in 2023-24, and 27-55 (.329) the season before that and haven’t had 45-plus wins since the 2015-16 campaign, which was also Charlotte’s last playoff appearance.
However, it would appear that ending the playoff drought hasn’t been the organization’s goal.
“I have zero interest in making the playoffs for a year and then being out for the next four or five and then in for two and out again after that,” general manager Jeff Peterson said in February.
Charlotte Struggling Under Charles Lee
Through 100 games under Lee, the Hornets have gone 23-77 (.230).
LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller did not play a significant part of the 2024-25 campaign due to injuries. As a result, Charlotte ranked second in missed games and used 36 different lineups.
The Hornets also went 2-24 without Ball last season. If Ball is able to remain on the court on a consistent basis, Lee believes the former first-rounder will unlock his potential at the NBA level.
“There’s so many elements that he can continue to add to his game, certainly with the ball,” Lee told Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer in March.
“He’s getting better off the ball and that’s all we can ask of him, is to continue to compete and trust his teammates and keep building his leadership.”
LaMelo Ball Reportedly Asked For Trade
As for this season, both injuries and the Hornets’ inability to inbound the ball in crunch time have led to the team’s 4-14 (.222) start and 12th-place ranking in the Eastern Conference.
Besides coaching, a lack of defensive talent is also hurting the young squad.
Even if the organization seems aligned with Lee at the helm, the W-L column is all that matters to fans. The Hornets haven’t had a winning season since 2021-22, when they went 43-39 (.524).
Some would refer to this stage as growing pains, but unfortunately, time is not on Charlotte’s side. Another losing season wouldn’t give fans much optimism for the franchise’s future.
What’s to say that Ball or another star player doesn’t ask for a trade in the months ahead?
Yahoo Sports’ Kelly Iko reported on Nov. 20 that Ball has become “increasingly frustrated” with the Hornets and is open to a trade.
Ball Denied Iko’s Report
Ball, 24, then responded to Iko’s report on X with a clown face emoji.
Speaking after the team’s Nov. 21 practice, the star point guard expanded on his reaction, denying Iko’s report and stating he doesn’t want to leave Charlotte.
“It didn’t come from me,” Ball told Boone. “The source wasn’t me, so it’s false info. Got to let them know. I really don’t like commenting on stuff, but it got too big. … I love being here.”
If Ball does want off the Hornets, the team’s situation could go from bad to worse pretty quick. If Ball ever decides to pull a Jimmy Butler, trading the 6-foot-7 guard wouldn’t bode well for Lee.
The Hornets have already said they have no desire to trade Ball.
However, durability has also been an issue for Ball, who has played more than 60 games only once in the past five seasons and has missed at least 25 games over the past three campaigns.
In Ball’s five games post-injury return, he’s averaging just 16.6 points, 5,0 rebounds, and 7.6 assists on 32.5% shooting from the field and 21% from beyond the arc.
If the losing continues, players could eventually turn on Lee.
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