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Report: Charlotte Hornets Finalizing Charles Lee's Coaching Staff

Things are starting to come together for the new head coach of the Charlotte Hornets.
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

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New Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee has much of his focus on winning a title with the Boston Celtics, but he's been putting in some overtime hours to make progress on getting things in place for when he arrives in Charlotte.

According to HoopsHype, the Hornets are closing in on filling out the coaching staff.

"The Charlotte Hornets are finalizing head coach Charles Lee’s coaching staff. Lee’s bench will include assistant coaches Lamar Skeeter, Josh Longstaff, Chris Jent, Ryan Frazier, Zach Peterson, Matt Hill, and Blaine Mueller."

Skeeter is expected to be Lee's lead assistant. He has been with the Utah Jazz organization dating back to 2016 when he served as an assistant working on player development. Prior to his long stint in Utah, Skeeter was an assistant on the then D-League Canton Charge before moving on to be a part of Mike Budenholzer's staff in Atlanta.

Longstaff, 41, got his start in coaching at the high school level at Porland HS in Maine back in 2005. He spent four years there before moving on to Gorham HS where he coached for three seasons. He then made the unusual jump from high school coach to NBA assistant, joining the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2010 as a part of Scott Brooks' staff. He has since coached with the New York Knicks (2014-17), Erie BayHawks (2017-18), Milwaukee Bucks (2018-20), and most recently the Chicago Bulls (2020-23).

Chris Jent has been in the coaching space since 2003, serving stints with the Philadelphia 76ers (2003-04), Orlando Magic (2004-05), Cleveland Cavaliers (2006-11), Ohio State (2011-13; 2016-17), Sacramento Kings (2013-14), Bakersfield Jam (2015-16), Atlanta Hawks 2017-22, and Los Angeles Lakers (2022-24).

Frazier only has a handful of years coaching in the NBA, getting his start in 2018 with the Bucks. He's since been in multiple roles with he Suns and Pelicans.

Peterson has bounced back and forth from a video coordinator and assistant with the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks from 2016-19 before spending a couple of years with the Oklahoma City Thunders. He's currently an assistant with the Lakers.

Matt Hill spent a good chunk of this time in Atlanta as well before becoming an advance scout and assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns.

Prior to being hired as the head coach of the G League's Maine Celtics last year, Mueller spent a handful of years as an assistant in Milwaukee.

READ MORE ABOUT THE HORNETS

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Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Schuyler Callihan is the publisher of West Virginia On SI and has been a trusted source covering the Mountaineers since 2016. He is the host of Between The Eers, The Walk Thru Game Day Show, and In the Gun Podcast. The Wheeling, WV native moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2020 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and Carolina Panthers.