The Greensboro Swarm Announce The Team's Fifth Head Coach in Franchise History

The Swarm held a press conference on Tuesday to announce their new leader.

Owen O'Connor

After winning their first G League title in franchise history in April, the Greensboro Swarm were in search of a new head coach. Their current head coach, DJ Bakker, would be headed to the Orlando Magic as an assistant coach under Sean Sweeney.

"Coach Bakker did a phenomenal job over the last two years working on and establishing that culture... all of that turned into a G League championship" said Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee.

In Bakker's stead, the Swarm were looking for a new head coach. Greensboro ultimately turned to an internal hire: Director of Player Development Zach Peterson.

Peterson has spent more than a decade as a coach in the NBA, where he started as a video intern for the Atlanta Hawks in 2014. Peterson will continue in his role as an assistant coach and director of player development for the Hornets, where he has spent the last two seasons.

Peterson brings experience under several renowned head coaches in men's basketball, including Tom Izzo, Mike Budenholzer, Billy Donovan, and Mark Daigneault. He played a part in laying the foundation for the current iteration of the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he worked with two-time league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

"As we are on our journey we are taking bits and pieces of everywhere," Peterson told Hornets On SI after his introductory press conference on Tuesday. "I could talk for days about individual lessons from everybody."

Peterson continued to heap praise on Lee, with the two having worked together since their time in Atlanta. When asked whether he would implement Lee's philosophy for the Swarm, Peterson said:

"That's one of the biggest things—the alignment. I think we'll be really, really special because we're going to do everything as much as we can the exact same way. We'll look at things differently, and at the end of the day, we're always going to play to our strengths. But the overall structure, we'll do as much as we can to make sure it's aligned with the Hornets franchise."

For Head Coach Peterson, this new opportunity offers a chance to continue building on what was accomplished in Greensboro last season, while also maintaining a direct connection to their parent organization.

Coming off the first championship in franchise history, Peterson is inheriting a Swarm team who has established a winning culture. With experience across multiple different organizations, multiple successful head coaches, and familiarity with Lee and the system that Charlotte runs, Peterson will now have a unique opportunity to help the Swarm continue their success while developing players for the Hornets.

Peterson will be the fifth head coach in team history, and will look to build on the winning culture that was laid down by DJ Bakker.