One-on-one with Charles Lee: LaMelo Ball is ‘three-level threat’ and can go even higher

Moving sidewalks have nothing on Charles Lee.

A car wash-style late afternoon is nearly complete and the Charlotte Hornets head coach takes a brief moment to reflect as the city skyline glistens through sun-splashed windows at Lowe’s Tech Hub.

Lee jokes about the attire he’s wearing, noting how his custom tailored navy blue suit won’t get much use because the dress code for coaches is different these days. If he was exhausted from Boston’s NBA championship run, he certainly hid it well.

“Yeah, so it’s been so much fun, actually I couldn’t wait to get here,” Lee told The Observer on Tuesday. “We won Game 5 and I got here two days later, and wanted to link up, and touch down and go by the gym and watch the guys work out, and touch base with Jeff (Peterson, the Hornets’ vice president of basketball operations) and his group. And then I flew back to Boston and was able to go there and celebrate.

“And that was like the final farewell.”

Lee returned to Charlotte with his wife and three daughters on Sunday, ready to roll up his sleeves and tackle the task ahead of him: turning the franchise into a winner. With Spectrum Center closed for renovations, the Hornets have been displaced somewhat, making things helter-skelter.

But not even the current nomadic nature of things can discourage Lee as he attempts to find his footing while navigating his new environment.

“I think one of the strong suits I have is being able to build relationships,” Lee said. “And so for me, from Day One, as soon as they told me that I was going to be the head coach the Charlotte Hornets, I was focused on, yes, I cannot be here physically, but that doesn’t make up or there’s no excuse for me to not get on the phone, text message somebody, have a phone call, have a Zoom call.

“And I wanted to make sure I exhausted every option to be able to build relationships. Even some of the guys came to some of our Celtics games, which was really good. So even as I’ve come back now, that’s the focus — continue to build relationships. Start to put together a little bit more structure for everybody of what the days look like.”

Excuses aren’t allowed.

“Like you said, the arena is being renovated, who cares?” Lee said. “We’ve still got to find a way to work. And I think that’s a little bit of the NBA way sometimes. You’ve lost a couple games, who cares? You better figure out a way to get better and get ready to go play that next game and still be able to compete.

“And so one of the things that I just want from this group is just a continued emphasis about work and no excuses. Talk is cheap at the end of the day, Are we really going to have the actions necessary to keep building?”

Lee sat down with The Observer for an exclusive interview about several subjects, including how LaMelo Ball can reach All-Star status again, building a sustainable culture with the Hornets, his thoughts on Brandon Miller and more.

Roderick Boone: What was it like having players like Brandon Miller, Mark Williams and Grant Williams visit you during the playoffs?

Charles Lee: I think that it just was a sign of the commitment to togetherness. And so no matter what is going on, can we celebrate each other? Can we continue to build each other up and lift each other up? And I think that was just showing them a commitment from these guys. I also think that it helped them see what does the intensity look like for a playoff game? What does that kind of competitiveness look and feel like? Because it’s so much different than the regular season. And it was a good eye-opening opportunity for them that I think that they will cherish.

RB: How eager are you to prove you’re ready for this step on the coaching ladder?

CL: I think what motivates me is the every day, and like I said, I don’t want to put the wins and losses on to everything we do this first year. I want to make sure that we are focused on the process, and the structure, and giving these guys an identity, and laying out what are the expectations of us offensively and defensively.

And make or miss a shot, did we go about the right process to get it? If we get a stop or we don’t get a stop, did we go about the right things from what the game plan told us to do to actually kind of put ourselves in the best position? Because I think that sometimes we can be fooled by short-term gains, and I want to see this thing be built out for really long time.

RB: Obviously, the draft and free agency are coming up and the roster will change a bit. But what excites you about the core group of players right now?

CL: There’s just so much room to grow and I think they are hungry to grow and driven. I think Cliff (Steve Clifford) and his staff did a really good job of building a foundation, and now we kind of get to build on top of that. And so I’m really thankful for what they’ve done and now we get to kind of take it to, hopefully, the next couple levels. And again, those levels we can’t jump to them. We have to build to get there.

RB: What impressed you most about LaMelo from afar and what do you want to see from him to become an All-Star caliber player every night?

CL: For one, I’ve loved getting to know the person. I think that’s one of the things that sometimes gets mistaken or overlooked because we are so focused on his play on the court. So, the person has been a joy to get to know. I can tell that he’s got a great way about him and he kind of bonds and brings everyone together on the court — and off the court — which I really love.

And so on the court, though, I think that he’s just doing all that he can possibly do to make sure that he’s more available this year, a little bit healthier. Injuries are going to happen, but if you can do a lot of the work on the front end, hopefully you can create some luck where you avoid one or two of these little minor, nagging injuries. And then outside of that, I just think that offensively, he’s going to be a big component or a big part of us being able to play fast.

Getting a stop is going to be the first part of it. But I think that him in the open court in the All-Star year that he had, being able to get out and kick ahead to Brandon, kick ahead to Miles (Bridges), to Tre (Mann), whomever it is out there on the wings. And then being able to score at the same time.

I think he can play pick-and-roll. He’s a three-level kind of threat in terms of he can hit a three, he can make a pocket pass, he can throw a lob or finish in the paint. And then defensively, I just want to continue to push him in that area and make sure that he’s really focused on individual pride.

RB: How can your age at 39 years old help you connect, communicate and motivate LaMelo and the other players?

CL: I think that he is, No. 1, self-motivated. I talk to him a lot. He is very driven and he understands what he’s capable of. He wants to be out there with the team all the time, and not being healthy the last couple years, he feels like I’m in a place of I’ve let the team down. And those aren’t his words exactly, but I would just say that knowing him and knowing what he’s about, the team, he wants to be out there with his guys, he wants to be in the trenches.

I would just say, from an age standpoint, I’ve seen old coaches relate to young coaches. I’ve seen vice versa. I think the age thing isn’t as important as it is just players want to know that you are invested in their growth. And so you can have all the ‘X’ and ‘O’ knowledge, you can have all the championships. But until LaMelo understands that I truly am genuinely interested in his growth on and off the court, that’s when I think that you get the most trust from a player, and that’s when they’re actually really able to be coached.

RB: Jrue Holiday was very complimentary of you when you officially got this job last month. What did it mean to hear him have your back?

CL: It’s really gratifying to hear that, because like I kind of said during the press conference, I got into coaching because I want to be able to help players maximize who they are, as people and as players. And so to know that I’ve had that type of impact on Jrue, it’s very gratifying for me. I love that guy. I love how he’s grown, but I love everything he’s put out there on the court to be able to allow me to have the success I have.

He’s made me a better coach, probably more than I’ve helped him be a better player at the end of the day. And so I’m just so thankful and appreciative of what he’s done.

RB: How do you ensure everything is set up for you to succeed here?

CL: Basically, when I said this was the right place at the right time, the right team at the right time for me, part of that was knowing that Gabe (Plotkin), Rick (Schnall) and Jeff were going to be able to give me all the resources that I need to be successful, to make sure the team is successful. And part of those resources are just having a competent staff around me, and a group of guys that are able to be culture enhancers. And that’s what I’m going to be looking to finalize over the coming days and weeks.

RB: Lastly, what are your thoughts on Brandon Miller? What are you seeing from him so far and what kind of player can he be for this team?

CL: Yeah, I think that he can be a phenomenal two-way player. I think that as the year went on last year, he started to get a feel for the game, the physicality of the game, and now his mindset’s got to be, ‘I’m going to go from being a guy on the scouting report to the guy on the scouting report. And that’s going to look a lot different for him.

So, he’s done a phenomenal job this summer of attacking everything that’s been asked of him in the weight room and on the court. And so that commitment to playing both ends at a high level is going to be really important for his growth.