A bevy of NBA coaches appear to be on the hot seat this season. We’ve already seen one coach get let go in former Houston Rockets head man Kevin McHale. We’ve also seen Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle get a well deserved extension on his contract.
It now appears that an Eastern Conference head coach will be sticking around for a little bit longer. The Charlotte Hornets will be extending the contract of head coach Steve Clifford.
Following from Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
OBSERVER EXCLUSIVE: The @hornets have come to agreement with coach Steve Clifford on a multi-year extension. Story to follow.
— Rick Bonnell (@rick_bonnell) November 25, 2015
The Charlotte Hornets and coach Steve Clifford have come to an agreement on a multi-year extension, the Observer has learned.
The deal includes a three-year guarantee that would keep Clifford in his current role through the 2018-19 season.
Clifford is in his third season as Charlotte’s head coach, one season with the Bobcats, two with the Hornets. He was hired in the summer of 2013 after being a longtime NBA assistant. He started his NBA career as a scout for the New York Knicks, working for Jeff Van Gundy. He was later a Knicks assistant coach, then worked with the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers
This season, the Hornets are 8-6 coming off a less than stellar 33-49 season last year. Clifford is 84-94 overall with the Hornets, having reached the playoffs in Clifford’s first season when the Bobcats were a seven seed that got swept by the Miami Heat.
Clifford has been the most successful coach since basketball returned to Charlotte after a two year hiatus that ended in 2004. The Bobcats made the playoffs in 2010 under Larry Brown but he was quickly let go and a lot of losing went on until Clifford came and changed the ways the Hornets play.
