Where Do the Hornets Turn Now?
It's very rare to see a coach agree to terms with a team to be the next head coach and then out of nowhere, change his mind and back out of the job. That's what Kenny Atkinson did over the weekend as he was set to become the Charlotte Hornets' 12th head coach in franchise history but ultimately decided to remain on staff with the Golden State Warriors.
With Atkinson now out of the picture, the Hornets are scrambling to find their next guy with just days remaining until the 2022 NBA Draft. A new coach may or may not be announced ahead of the draft but they have already done extensive research and held interviews with two candidates that are still available - Mike D'Antoni and Terry Stotts.
Both candidates interviewed with the Hornets twice before Charlotte decided on Atkinson. D'Antoni met with owner Michael Jordan, so if the Hornets want to speed up the process as quickly as possible, they could offer the job to the longtime NBA coach.
The two biggest concerns that come with hiring D'Antoni are his age (71) and his up-tempo style that tends to lead to porous play on the defensive end of the floor. One of the few reasons James Borrego was let go was due to the team's lack of defensive efficiency. If the Hornets want to take that next step and be a serious threat in the Eastern Conference, they have no choice but to improve on that end of the floor. Hiring D'Antoni would not do that. However, it would certainly help LaMelo Ball's growth as a premier offensive talent.
Stotts is slightly younger (64), but Portland's defense was one of the reasons he lost his job. Despite the lack of success in the postseason, Stotts did lead the Trail Blazers to eight consecutive playoff appearances and an overall record of 402-318.
If the Hornets want to go in another direction, they would have to go through another extensive coaching search which could take weeks. Some names that could be of interest would be recently fired Utah Jazz head coach Quinn Snyder, 76ers assistant Sam Cassell, Clippers assistant Jay Larranaga, and former Lakers head coach Frank Vogel.
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