The Hornets are hiring an old friend as their new head coach.
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Steve Clifford is headed back to Charlotte in a role he held for five years.
Clifford, 60, did indeed coach the Hornets once already — from 2013-18, leading them to the playoffs on two occasions. He then coached the Magic from 2018-21.
Overall, Clifford has compiled a 292-345 record, and is generally viewed as a coach who get teams to play above expectations.
He spent this past season as a coaching consultant to Steve Nash with the Nets, and has been linked to several vacancies over the past year.
The Hornets have been looking to replace James Borrego, fired after three seasons. Ex-Nets coach and current Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson originally accepted the job, before backing out last week.
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