Recently dismissed Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford may still be with the team if they had taken his advice. Also recently dismissed General Manager Rich Cho may still have his job if he had listened to Clifford. In this hypothetical situation, if Clifford had gotten his way, Charlotte would have budding superstar Donovan Mitchell.
On the Lowe Post Podcast, NBA Draft expert Johnathon Givony says he heard that Clifford was in the draft war room last year saying the needs to draft Michell. So it goes, he was overruled. Instead, the team selected Kentucky sharpshooter Malik Monk.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe, on that same podcast, backs Givony’s statement. “Cliff (Hornets coach Steve Clifford) was 100 percent trying to get them to select Donovan Mitchell.” Lowe adds that the Mitchell story is only “the seventh-worst story” he has heard come out of the Hornets draft room. Ouch. If you would like to listen yourself, the conversation about the Hornets and Donovan Mitchell starts very early in the podcast at the 2:15 mark.
There is certainly still plenty of time for Monk to become a good player, but last season was underwhelming. Ankle injuries hampered his season some, but Malik Monk only averaged 6.7 points per game on 36 percent shooting. Perhaps new Hornets coach James Borrego will utilize Monk differently from Steve Clifford.
