Steve Clifford has added a handful of assistants to several that have been retained from James Borrego’s staff.
The Charlotte Hornets have announced that Steve Clifford has finalized his coaching staff. The coaches being added are:
- Tyrone Corbin
- Bob Beyer
- Rex Walters
- Bruce Kruetzer
- Brian O’Connor
They join an existing staff that includes Marlon Garnett, Jay Hernandez, Nick Friedman and Norman Richardson.
Corbin will be the lead assistant. Corbin was head coach of the Utah Jazz from 2011 through 2014 and served as an assistant on Steve Clifford’s staff in Orlando.
Beyer served on Clifford’s first coaching staff in Charlotte but dipped out after a year to join Stan Van Gundy’s staff in Detroit.
Walters has had a journeyman career to this point, first as a player and now as a coach. He has coached at the college and G League level, and this will be his second stint as an assistant in the NBA.
Kruetzer has worked with Steve Clifford since the first Charlotte go around and is known for his work as a shooting coach.
O’Connor (not to be confused with the dude from the Fast and Furious series) was a basketball operations intern while Steve Clifford was here the first time and then spent the last five years working with former Hornets assistant Patrick Ewing at Georgetown.
It makes for a staff of Steve Clifford and nine assistants, which is a much larger staff than we’re used to seeing in Charlotte, but after a quick glance around the league, doesn’t seem to be all that uncommon.
It’s a coaching staff, so I don’t know how to have any strong opinions on this. Seems like a fine staff. Nothing super exhilarating but also nothing notable to complain about.