I'm BACKKKKKKKK!!: The Steve Clifford Thread

[W_HAMILTON]

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Maybe the most surprising scenario to cross my desk so far this week comes from the coaching front. There is some serious mounting buzz that former Hornets coach Steve Clifford, who already coached in Charlotte for five seasons and took Michael Jordan’s team to the playoffs twice, has emerged as a candidate to make a return to the Queen City as Jordan scrambles to fill the massive void on his bench following Kenny Atkinson’s shock decision to stay in Golden State as an assistant. Mike D’Antoni, Charlotte’s only other known finalist before it struck a deal with Atkinson, was scheduled to meet with Jordan this week. I reported earlier this week that the Hornets remain expected to hire a successor to James Borrego who has prior head coaching experience. Clifford was a coaching consultant to Steve Nash in Brooklyn this season after a three-season stint (with two playoff appearances) coaching Orlando.

Oh hell no.

[Liver_Pooty]

Boone now reporting that he is a serious candidate.

[LofJ]

D'Antoni must have also turned us down, Atkinson really screwed us.

[MPM]

Ah, the Hornets halcyon days of the summer of '21. I'll remember them fondly.

[yosemiteben]

I literally can't believe that I have to come up with a new Steve Clifford take. This is crazy.

[countryboi]

D'Antoni must have also turned us down, Atkinson really screwed us.

why even meet if the answer was no?

[LofJ]

D'Antoni must have also turned us down, Atkinson really screwed us.

why even meet if the answer was no?

Professionalism, it's a lot more professional than letting us know via Woj (i.e. the Atkinson way).

[-Ian-]

Mitch mentioned that they were also reviewing "some new candidates" so they're probably approaching this with a renewed process. FFS, we should just take a gamble and find the next gen head coach like Green, Jenkins, and Udoka.

[Liver_Pooty]

I actually like Clifford and think he had a brilliant basketball mind.

I just think hiring someone after canning them not too long ago is a horrific look, and didn't like some of the rotations and stuff he spit out. It's whatever at this point.

[Robot Rock]

I actually like Clifford and think he had a brilliant basketball mind.

I just think hiring someone after canning them not too long ago is a horrific look, and didn't like some of the rotations and stuff he spit out. It's whatever at this point.

I mean, four years is a long time in the NBA. Not a single player on this roster was on the team when Cliff last coached here. I don't by any means think he's the worst candidate. But surely you'd think D'Antoni would want it.

[Robot Rock]

What I don't like about it is I think LaMelo needs to have a say in this, and he appears to have no say in it. I don't believe players should inherently have that kind of sway but the stars do, and he's a star. Going against the grain has always served this team horribly.

[JMAC3]

I think I would rather have Mark Jackson than Clifford and that is saying a lot.

[BigSlam]

LaMelo hasn't earned the right to have a say in anything IMO.

How about he worry about playing accountable basketball and focus on improving his game before worrying about what the FO is doing.

Kid has been in the league for a second. Let's not put the cart before the horse here. Find a coach that might help amplify his strengths and develop his weaknesses? Sure. But him have a say in who the coach is? Pfffffssstttt.

[Flip Murray]

Are Ramon Sessions and Jason Maxiell also being considered?

[Flip Murray]

One thing that seems to be pretty standard for consistently bad/middling franchises is failure to accurately assess where the team is at from a development perspective - then making moves accordingly. I haven't followed this team in several years, but I do know Cliff. Is this another example of Charlotte thinking they are in one place (ready to take the "next step" whatever that means) when in reality they are still 2 or 3 years out? I liked Cliff but I remember him not being the best coach for player development.

EDIT: OR is this just a knee-jerk reaction to getting screwed over by Atkinson and i'm reading too much into it?

[yosemiteben]

Is this another example of Charlotte thinking they are in one place (ready to take the "next step" whatever that means) when in reality they are still 2 or 3 years out? I liked Cliff but I remember him not being the best coach for player development.

Just my opinion, but I actually think we are at a place where we are ready to start making playoff pushes so I don't think we are 2 or 3 development years away from needing someone who can start winning.

I am not ready to go on the record about Cliff, but two thoughts:

(1) Con - I am VERY concerned that Cliff is not going to jive well with Melo. I'm worried about Cliff being too disciplinarian with (from Melo's perspective) too little credibility to back it up, and I'm not confident Cliff has the offensive creativity / chops to make full use of Melo's skillset. If we were going defensive specialist coach, give me Vogel.

(2) Pro - give Cliff a single elimination game, and dude is going to have a good gameplan and have his team prepared. I'm not confident we would have performed as well during the regular season the past couple years with Cliff as the head coach, but I also feel pretty confident that we wouldn't have been embarrassed in the play-in like we were.

I dunno, I'm just still floored that this is a serious possibility. I don't even know what to make of the possibility that the only person we can get to come here is the guy who this FO fired when they first took over.

[amcoolio]

2nd'd on rather have Vogel, I mean he recently won a championship.

Still think we need a strong leader former player. I would consider Stackhouse. Make Cliff or Vogel lead assistant for game planning.

[Soul Rebel]

I do not want Cliff back. His best season as a HC was 48-34, and eight seasons as a HC has a .458 record. Playoffs.....5-16 record. A known disciplinarian that favors vets over youth, plays a half-court slowdown style and already fizzled out here.

This wreaks of desperation, cheap and laziness. I'd rather gamble on Cassel or Sweeney. I just don't see how Clifford meshes with our roster and trajectory.

As an assistant to help with defense....absolutely.

[HornetJail]

going from Atkinson to Clifford would be such a kick in the dick. I can't believe anybody thinks this is a good idea.

[Hornet Mania]

My primary beef with Cliff is he will always roll with vets over prospects and this year seems like a campaign where we'll need to lean on giving our prospects a chance (namely Bouk, Kai, Williams) since we didn't add any veteran help.

If we hire Cliff and he ends up having Plumlee out there getting dominated all game while Kai and Williams rot I will be so demoralized.