Hornets ride winds of change as coach Charles Lee adds finishing touches to staff

Take the first two letters in “ Charlotte Hornets” to help spell the word that best summarizes what’s happening with Carolina’s NBA franchise.

Change.

New faces have been put in new places for months since co-owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin took the reins last August, and that reach has trickled all the way down to the Hornets’ basketball operations department as the team prepares to kick its offseason into high gear this week with the introduction of coach Charles Lee on Tuesday — and the NBA Draft on Wednesday and Thursday.

Final touches are being put on Lee’s staff and none of the assistants who held posts under former coach Steve Clifford are being retained, league sources told The Observer.

And that’s not the only place that will look a little different in 2024-25.

The Hornets are also going in another direction with their training staff, recently parting ways with their longtime director of healthcare and sports performance Joe Sharpe, per league sources. Taking a look at the Hornets’ injury situation was among the tasks of Hornets’ ownership this offseason.

Missed games due to injuries — led by star point guard LaMelo Ball — have been a recurring issue for the Hornets the past few seasons. Only Memphis recorded more in 2023-24 and the Hornets’ thin depth couldn’t handle the increased workload, leading to their disappointing campaign.

As for Lee’s staff, it will also include Ryan Frazier, Zach Peterson, Matt Hill and Blaine Mueller, league sources confirmed. They are joining Lamar Skeeter, Chris Jent and Josh Longstaff — the trio of coaches at the front of the Hornets’ bench. Skeeter holds the title as lead assistant.

Frazier is in the early stages of his pro coaching career and began in similar fashion to many others; he cut his teeth putting together footage as a video coordinator for Phoenix under then-coach Monty Williams from 2019-21.

New Orleans coach Willie Green, who’s a protege of Williams, saw something in Frazier and brought him onto the Pelicans’ staff in 2021 before Lee came calling. Frazier’s connections to Lee stem from their ties to the same alma mater.

Both played for Bucknell University at different times and Lee is in the school’s athletics hall of fame. When Frazier graduated and wanted to pursue a career in coaching instead of being an investment banker, Lee assisted Frazier by securing him an internship with the Milwaukee Bucks as an NBA video assistant. Frazier had his start in the business and enjoyed the environment.

So, when the Hornets tabbed Lee as their new lead voice on the bench, making him the first former Patriot League player to become a head coach in the NBA, Lee wanted his fellow Bison along for the ride. Their familiarity should allow for a seamless transition.

Peterson is the second former member of the Los Angeles Lakers staff under former coach Darvin Ham to now call Charlotte home. He joins Jent, having been with Ham since 2022, and the Hornets will be his fifth NBA team.

Besides the Lakers, Peterson also had a stint as a player development coach with Oklahoma City (2019-22) and took care of video as a coordinator with Milwaukee (2018-19) and Atlanta (2014-18), which once again gives Lee a familiar factor with one of his additions.

Hill also has Atlanta on his resume, having served as an assistant for three different head coaches from 2018-2023. That preceded Hill’s most recent position with Phoenix on Frank Vogel’s staff and he became available when the Suns cut Vogel loose after only one season.

Hill tipped his coaching career off in Orlando in 2012 as a video analyst and blossomed alongside Vogel prior to leaving to go to the Hawks.

Mueller comes to the Hornets after guiding the G League’s Maine Celtics this past season. He followed Lee’s footsteps in going from Milwaukee to New England last year, taking on the new task after being with the Bucks as a video and player development assistant, being tasked with the team’s head video coordinator duties before earning a promotion to the assistant coach ranks.

Now, Hill and the others on Lee’s staff have only one mission: collectively get the Hornets on a winning path and end the NBA’s longest playoff drought.