As Steve Clifford leaves the building, here are 3 ways the Charlotte Hornets must improve

When Steve Clifford’s final home game as the Charlotte Hornets’ coach was over Tuesday, after the video tributes and the unsuccessful coaching challenge and the 26-point loss, he first shook hands with Dallas head coach Jason Kidd.

Then Clifford simply walked off the floor.

Purposeful. Eyes straight ahead. No hugs. No hanging out. No applause, really — people hardly noticed. He walked off that court in a hurry, despite having nowhere much to go.

That was vintage Clifford, though. He’s old-school like that, a basketball lifer who is most alive when he’s in the middle of either coaching a game or preparing to coach a game. He’s an NBA head coach — for a few more hours anyway — who doesn’t seek the spotlight.

I like him. Always have. But Clifford is 62, and his energy level isn’t what it used to be, and the Hornets have gone 27-55 and 20-60 in the two years since he returned for a second stint as Charlotte’s coach.

I think we’d all agree that it’s time for the Hornets to try something different. Clifford does, too. He announced his intention to step down after this season with seven games still left. He’ll coach his final game Sunday, as Charlotte closes on the road at Cleveland.

As 20 of the NBA’s 30 teams prepare for either the full-fledged playoffs or at least the league’s play-in tournament, the Hornets are on the outside looking in. Again. They are still saddled with the longest non-playoff streak in the NBA, having last made the field in 2016, when the only thing scary about “AI” was Allen Iverson’s crossover dribble.

I’ve advocated in this space for the Hornets to hire Dawn Staley, the South Carolina women’s dazzling head coach, and I still believe that to be a fine avenue to pursue (although Staley likely wouldn’t want to do it).

But no matter if the Hornets hire a top NBA assistant or G League coach Lindsey Harding (she’s going to get an interview) or whomever else, none of it will matter if the Hornets can’t improve their personnel and keep the players they have healthier.

With a new GM in Jeff Peterson and a new coach to come, the Hornets are in fact in a very similar place as the Carolina Panthers. Both teams are starting over, trying to put chess pieces around the player they want to be their star.

The Panthers have quarterback Bryce Young — who is durable but so far can’t put up numbers — and the Hornets have point guard LaMelo Ball — who can put up numbers but so far isn’t durable. Neither one of them have yet proven they can win regularly as a pro.

Here are the three things Peterson and the new coach must do to make the Hornets better quickly. Well, two things they can do, and one thing they can wish for:

Solve the LaMelo problem

The Hornets’ max-contract player has played in only 58 out of 164 potential games the past two years. It seems like he has some sort of recurring ankle injury about once a month. Is it the shoes? The ankle braces (or sometimes the lack thereof)? The athletic training staff? Bad luck?

Until the Hornets can get Melo playing 70 games a year again rather than 30, it’s not going to change much around here. The investment in Ball is so large that it keeps the team from doing some other things. It absolutely has to pay off.

Make the 2024 draft count

Once again, the Hornets are going to have a lottery pick. Perhaps, if they get lucky, it’s going to be a Top-3 pick. They aced the 2023 draft with Brandon Miller at No. 2. This year’s draft isn’t supposed to be as strong, but there will be some gems in there. Ideally, the Hornets’ next lottery player becomes a key part of the rotation immediately. This will help fill the talent gap, and it’s Peterson’s second big test (the first being which coach he hires).

Find a little magic

This is the one the Hornets have to wish for. They need a little luck.

You’ve heard of something being greater than the sum of its parts? The Hornets are the opposite. They are less than the sum of their parts. Even now, despite their injuries, they have a decent number of veteran role players and a burgeoning star in Miller, who’s been the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for the past three months in a row.

The Hornets don’t have enough talent overall, yes, but they also don’t have enough desire. They came out flat and allowed Luka Dončić to score 21 points Tuesday in the first quarter of Clifford’s last game. They don’t make enough hustle plays. They don’t rebound defensively well enough, and some of that is just plain want-to.

The Hornets did have a strong comeback win at Atlanta Wednesday night, with Miles Bridges going coast-to-coast for the winning layup in a 115-114 thriller, but those moments have been few and far between the last couple of years.

Like the Panthers, this is a team that doesn’t know how to win. One of them is going to figure it out some day. I hope it happens during this decade.