April 18, 2024 • 15 mins
Yahoo Sports Senior NBA Reporter Jake Fischer joins Sam Farber to discuss the state of the Hornets franchise, what the future holds for the young Charlotte roster core, and much more.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Hornets Hoivecast presented by Charlotte I ear
nosen Throat Associates, the official I ear nosen throat Care
provider of the Charlotte Hornets. Here's your host, Sam Farber.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to another edition of the Hornets I've cast, your
Hornets podcast with all the notes, quote san daily buzz
around your favorite NBA team. I'm Sam Farber and it
is a pleasure and a privileged to have you with
us here once again on the Hornets I've Cast brought
to you by Santa Charlotte I hear nosen Throat Associates,
the official I hear nosen Throatcare provider of the Charlotte Hornets.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
It's an off season edition of the AHC.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
The twenty three to twenty four campaign now in the
Hornets Rearview Mirror squad, finishing with a twenty one and
sixty one record on the season, ending with a winning
road trip, taking two of the final three, but overall,
obviously with a twenty one and sixty one record, not
exactly what the Hornets had hoped for. A somewhat disappointing season,
although a lot of reasons for it, and we will
start to break them down for you here over the
(00:56):
next couple of weeks of these podcasts schedule here for
the Charlotte Hornets, we're going to be doing a full
season recap, looking back on our favorite plays and games
of the season. Will talk about Hornets head coach Steve Clifford,
who has called it a career in terms of his
head coaching career with the Charlotte Hornets. He is expected
to transition into a front office role. We'll look back
(01:17):
at the rookie season of Brandon Miller, talk about the
changes coming structurally to the organization and our optimism for
the twenty four to twenty five campaign to be and
that all starts today. We are going to shift from
daily podcasts to biweekly podcast We're going to be about
a two podcast per week schedule for the foreseeable future.
And it starts today with a very special guest who's
(01:38):
going to help us look back at what is transpired
for the Hornets and look into the future at what
could be. And he is one of the foremost experts
on the NBA and a top reporter of all things
going on, one of the real news breakers in the industry.
It's Jake Fisher. He's the senior NBA reporter for Yahoo
Sports and the author of Built to Lose. How the
NBA's tanking era changed the league forever. And without further ado,
(02:00):
we welcome Jake Fisher here to the Hornet Time Cast.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Jake, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Thanks for the kind intro.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
How you doing I'm doing great. It's great to have
you here.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Great to get an expert in the game and a
national outlook here locally in Charlotte. Obviously, it has been
an eventful year for the Charlotte Hornets. The franchise has
a new ownership group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin,
a new executive vice president of basketball operations in Jeff Peterson.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
There will be a new coach. There will be a new.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Practice facility not too long after that, or reimagined arena.
A lot is happening here in the Queen City. How
do you see the franchise structurally positioned for the future.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
You know, back when the interview process began for the
lead executive job, that went to Jeff Peterson assessing what
this position, what this organization was going to look like.
I was comparing it a lot in my conversations with
league executives to the Wizards, and I think when you
net out all the factors, the compilation of a young
(03:00):
roster that already has an All Star and LaMelo Ball
a really impressive you know, three time Rookie of the
Month now and Brandon Miller when healthy, Mark Williams looking
like a true pogo stick on both sides of the ball.
Plus the ownership group that you mentioned, who are clearly
willing to put their money where their mouth is to
make this the premier destination in the NBA. That's what
(03:21):
they keep saying whenever they have taken public appearances and
sat in front of microphones such as this, And it
seems like all that combination, the investment and wander to
bring the right people here. To me, it's a very
bullish opportunity to be a Hornets fan right now. And
there's plenty of people around the league who are looking
(03:41):
at this organization and franchise is one that they want
to be a part of.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
I like that you went directly to the players as well.
The other stuff is the infrastructure that supports the team,
and it has to be right or else the team's
not going to reach its full potential, but you did
go straight to the core on the floor LaMelo Ball,
one of the youngest all stars in the game's history,
you know, questioning the talent that he's already shown on
(04:05):
the floor in the NBA in a short period of time.
Brandon Miller, as you mentioned, three time already Eastern Conference
Rookie of the Month, Mark Williams very strong. The course
seems to be there. What do you think of it
compared to other young trios or just generally speaking, cores
that teams have assembled around the NBA.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
When you look back to Orlando's rebuild from the post
Dwight Howard era back in twenty thirteen, twenty twelve era.
That was a storyline featured in my book that you
kindly mentioned at the top of this. A struggle that
I heard from a lot of people in that organization
at that time was it was difficult to have all
those pieces fit together from a roscas standpoint without having
that like lead dog and then a clear hierarchy and
(04:47):
a pecking order and kind of like a roll system.
Outside of that, and the fact that you have your bookends,
you have your point, your pick and roll combo went healthy.
Of course, of Lamela and Mark, and you've got this
two way really malleable, clearly a versatile skill set guy.
And Brandon who obviously has a super smooth shooting stroke
that my first time seeing him live in person at
(05:09):
the NBA level, not just Summer League. Even the range
behind the line, right, if anyone's watching these games, obviously
everyone listening to this show is he's shooting from thirty
feet sometimes. And I think that collection that one, three, five,
but the most important pieces on the floor, and you
can find connective guys in between that. As long as
you have that starting point and the fact that this
(05:31):
situation already does Lamel has already been anointed and all
Star Brandon seems to be well on his way to
being in that conversation, it is a massive, massive benefit
for any new head coach coming in here. For the
front office, it's going to be continued to shape under
Jeff Peterson. And to your point, yeah, everyone who will
be joining on that, anyone worth their salt, they will
all admit and recognize that they don't necessarily matter anywhere
(05:55):
near compared to how good the players are, how much
the talent rings out, and it's a really strong starting
point to have those three guys.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
The first step in terms of putting the core together
is finding the talent. The second step is seeing it
start to mature and hopefully make playoff runs and deep ones.
At that it's way too early to say for certain anything,
but as you evaluate it from your standpoint, where do
you see the ceiling potentially being for a trio like
LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Mark Williams.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
I think the goal before we get to the championships
is to just be a perennial playoff threat, right and
Orlando's another good example of that. This team coming in
right now where they take Pala number one. Last year,
they already had some pieces in place, but they put
together kind of like some winning principles on the defensive
side of the ball underhead coach Tamal Moseley last year
(06:46):
and that carried through to this season. And they've had
their ups and downs just like everyone else. But the
fact they've always been able to write that ship and
get back to the principles and the identity that establishes
themselves on that side of the ball is important. And
that's obviously something that Steve Clifford has made his calling
card throughout his career, and I think just from my
conversations and being around the staff, I would be surprised
(07:10):
if that teaching and his wisdom hasn't soaked pretty indefinitely
into a lot of the players here. And you hope
that that building block and that understanding of how team
defense is really kind of the necessity to win at
that level is a great starting point in addition to
all the talent that you have. So you hope that
(07:30):
these last six games that everyone keeps talking about trying
to not just win, but put your best foot forward,
to get better, to grow, to develop, You hope that
continues to add piece by piece and brick bury brick
and eventually the resources invested here, even seeing Vassa me
teach and Davis Burton's come after the trade deadline, just
that caliber of heightened NBA talent and professionalism, And I
(07:53):
think the greater clarity that exists here about how to
win games on a night to night level, on a
day to day basis on bringing that winning mentality to
the gym, to the plane, to the bus. That stuff
is starting now, and I think it is only going
to position everyone to put their best foot forward and
to really. I mean, I'm not saying that's the goal
next season here, I haven't heard that, but I think
(08:16):
without a doubt, if healthy, with another top you know,
hopefully three pick, depending on how the lottery falls, maybe
a couple moves on the margins with some cap space,
I think there's definitely a possibility this team could be
competing in that play in picture next season.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Jake Fisher, I guess today here on the Hornet's Sidecast,
senior NBA reporter for Yahoo Sports, that tipping point of
when you go over the edge of an accumulating talent
to now you are talent died and ready to make
a run.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
It can happen very fast.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
You mentioned Oklahoma City, Orlando, They've made those enormous jumps
this season to now being where they are. We've seen
it with Sacramento and other franchises recently. As you mentioned,
Charlotte already has LaMelo Ball. They have Brandon Miller Mark
Williams just outside of the lottery, but he was right
there on the edge of it and clearly has a
ton of talent and another top five pick or top
ten pick at minimum.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
I will see how the ping pong pulls fall here.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
For the Hornets, but we'll be coming into town and
Charlotte has accumulated multiple draft picks for the future as
well as has cap space.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
Where do you see the Hornets in terms.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Of being able to accumulate whatever those final few pieces
might be towards becoming that next team to make the jump.
How do you think the Hornets are positioned.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
To do that. We've talked about the core on the floor,
which is a great term from you. I think a
big piece just from a cap standpoint, and that math
does rule all team building. It's just the rigid guidelines
that every team has to work with. The So any
smart what we're thinking front office is already going to
be contemplating and considering the fact that Brandon Miller's going
(09:49):
to be getting a big paid at some point. Mark
Williams is going to be getting a big paiday at
some point. And it's the new nature of this new
collective bargain agreement that you're going to only have a
tight and tighter space to work with, and every little piece,
every twenty million dollar player on that roster, there's only
so many of those you can have now, So I
think a lot of it will be determined by that
(10:11):
and ultimately what other pieces that the Hornets want to
start to fit next to these other guys, whether it's
more of a connective playmaking fore man or a switchable
defensive guy in that spot, whether they want to find
just like a marksman three point shooting floor spacer at
that two spot in between the Metal and Brandon. That's
(10:32):
gonna be a big factor here.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Jake Fisher, our guests today on The Hornet's Podcast, Senior
NBA reporter for Yahoo Sports. You've been in Charlotte for
the Steve Clifford press conferences and announcement, and certainly an
eventful time for the organization. He's contributed so much to
the game, so much to the city of Charlotte in
this organization, and is renowned across the NBA for his
intellect and his expertise in the game in general and
(10:56):
in defense in particular. It's been pretty well laid out
now that he'll transition into a front.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Office role as the next step.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Where do you see him being the biggest contributor, Because
I see a lot of different areas. He's been pretty
committed to staying in his lane. He's the coach you
give him the talent. His job is to get the
most out of it and not necessarily to wade into
other waters. Now, maybe he can offer an opinion on players. Clearly,
there's no better person to test your defense against than
Steve Clifford. Maybe the only thing better is to try
(11:26):
and test your offense against him, because he's the guy
who's usually tasked with picking it apart. Where do you
see him having his biggest impact moving into a front
office role?
Speaker 4 (11:34):
It was interesting at that availability kind of learning that
there isn't necessarily an exact figure already established for him.
And I think to Sacramento where Alvin Gentry similar age
around sixty. When he departed from the Kings, they moved
him into a front office role. He's really enjoyed being
kind of an overall scout, Like I see him on
(11:57):
the road a lot in rival buildings in the media section,
doing player personnel scouting and evaluation, intel gathering and whatnot.
And he's told me that he thought that every front
office should have a long term veteran head coach in
it to also bring that day to day coaching perspective
into the more macro decision making that happens at kind
(12:18):
of like a thousand foot level from a front office standpoint,
someone who's actually in the gym, putting his hands on
guys sweating next to them, I think that does bring
a lot of different perspective. And Cliff being someone who
watches as much tape as anyone, who cares about teaching
this game as much as anyone, and who's just so
respected for being just a genuine, down to earth, really
(12:40):
really good guy. That's just whatever role he does find.
This could sound kitchy and corny, but I do think
just having him in the building's going to continue to
bring light and positivity and connection to the staff. So
it does seem like I said that they're still kind
of figuring that out. But to me, I think any
Hornets fan should be excited that he'll still be around
(13:01):
this building because he's going to contribute and he's going
to add and whatever capacity that.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Is, this Hornets fan is certainly very excited to keep
him around.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
My last question for you, their team is going to
obviously hire a new head coach, and they're going to
turn over every stone looking for all the best candidates.
Without going into particular people that will be up for
this job, I'm curious more your thought on why Charlotte
is an attractive destination. We've gone over a lot of
the reasons, but specifically for a head coach who is
(13:30):
clearly going to be looking to want to come in
and win and start cementing their legacy, either originally as
a head coach or further as a head coach. So
what makes this job, with all the infrastructure that's being built,
the new front office, the new ownership, the core on
the floor, what makes this job maybe more attractive than
others or the most attractive it could possibly be as
(13:53):
opposed to previous times that it's been opened in the past.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
To come into a building where you're gonna kind of
be like an early founder of a startup, where you're
going to help be able to shape the infrastructure and
just give a quick call to ownership and say hey
we need this and sniper fingers and it's going to
get there pretty soon. I think that's going to be very,
very intriguing to a lot of young coaches. There's only thirty,
(14:17):
but sometimes you do want to make sure that you're
going to a situation that you know you're going to
have a shelf life and at least three years minimum
to really establish our principles and start to build this
thing out and grow as much as you want your
players to grow too. You're going to have the runway
to do that here with that core we've talked about,
with the support you just mentioned, I think all that
combination together is going to be really, really intriguing for anybody.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Jake Fisher, senior NBA reporter for Yahoo Sports and the
author of Built to Lose, How the NBA's tanking era
changed the league Forever. Thanks so much for being so
generous with your time and thanks for being here with
us on the Hornets Podcast.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Thanks again to Jake Fisher for sitting down with us
in studio for this episode of the HHC talking about
the Hornets, their coaching search, the core players of the roster,
and everything else. Real pleasure to get his perspective on
the organization and where it's headed in the foreseeable futures.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Mention at the Onset.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Starting next week, we will be breaking down this twenty
three twenty four season, looking back at the tenure of
Hornets head coach Steve Clifford, forward at what Brandon Miller
and the Hornets might be capable of in the upcoming
twenty four to twenty five season and beyond. Rob Longo
and Sam Purley Hornets dot Com will start joining me
for those episodes, which we'll start next week. Till next
time for our guest Jake Fisher, for our producer Rob
(15:30):
Longo who helped put this podcast together, and most of all,
to all of you for tuning in. I'm Sam Farbers
saying it's been a pleasure and a privilege having you along. Well,
talk to you next time right here on the Hornets Ivecast.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Thank you for listening to the Hornets Podcast, brought to
you by Senta, the official i ear nosen Throadcare provider
of the Charlotte Hornets. For more coverage, visit Hornets dot com.
Welcome to the Hornets Hoivecast presented by Charlotte I ear
nosen Throat Associates, the official I ear nosen throat Care
provider of the Charlotte Hornets. Here's your host, Sam Farber.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to another edition of the Hornets I've cast, your
Hornets podcast with all the notes, quote san daily buzz
around your favorite NBA team. I'm Sam Farber and it
is a pleasure and a privileged to have you with
us here once again on the Hornets I've Cast brought
to you by Santa Charlotte I hear nosen Throat Associates,
the official I hear nosen Throatcare provider of the Charlotte Hornets.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
It's an off season edition of the AHC.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
The twenty three to twenty four campaign now in the
Hornets Rearview Mirror squad, finishing with a twenty one and
sixty one record on the season, ending with a winning
road trip, taking two of the final three, but overall,
obviously with a twenty one and sixty one record, not
exactly what the Hornets had hoped for. A somewhat disappointing season,
although a lot of reasons for it, and we will
start to break them down for you here over the
(00:56):
next couple of weeks of these podcasts schedule here for
the Charlotte Hornets, we're going to be doing a full
season recap, looking back on our favorite plays and games
of the season. Will talk about Hornets head coach Steve Clifford,
who has called it a career in terms of his
head coaching career with the Charlotte Hornets. He is expected
to transition into a front office role. We'll look back
(01:17):
at the rookie season of Brandon Miller, talk about the
changes coming structurally to the organization and our optimism for
the twenty four to twenty five campaign to be and
that all starts today. We are going to shift from
daily podcasts to biweekly podcast We're going to be about
a two podcast per week schedule for the foreseeable future.
And it starts today with a very special guest who's
(01:38):
going to help us look back at what is transpired
for the Hornets and look into the future at what
could be. And he is one of the foremost experts
on the NBA and a top reporter of all things
going on, one of the real news breakers in the industry.
It's Jake Fisher. He's the senior NBA reporter for Yahoo
Sports and the author of Built to Lose. How the
NBA's tanking era changed the league forever. And without further ado,
(02:00):
we welcome Jake Fisher here to the Hornet Time Cast.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Jake, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Thanks for the kind intro.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
How you doing I'm doing great. It's great to have
you here.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Great to get an expert in the game and a
national outlook here locally in Charlotte. Obviously, it has been
an eventful year for the Charlotte Hornets. The franchise has
a new ownership group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin,
a new executive vice president of basketball operations in Jeff Peterson.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
There will be a new coach. There will be a new.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Practice facility not too long after that, or reimagined arena.
A lot is happening here in the Queen City. How
do you see the franchise structurally positioned for the future.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
You know, back when the interview process began for the
lead executive job, that went to Jeff Peterson assessing what
this position, what this organization was going to look like.
I was comparing it a lot in my conversations with
league executives to the Wizards, and I think when you
net out all the factors, the compilation of a young
(03:00):
roster that already has an All Star and LaMelo Ball
a really impressive you know, three time Rookie of the
Month now and Brandon Miller when healthy, Mark Williams looking
like a true pogo stick on both sides of the ball.
Plus the ownership group that you mentioned, who are clearly
willing to put their money where their mouth is to
make this the premier destination in the NBA. That's what
(03:21):
they keep saying whenever they have taken public appearances and
sat in front of microphones such as this, And it
seems like all that combination, the investment and wander to
bring the right people here. To me, it's a very
bullish opportunity to be a Hornets fan right now. And
there's plenty of people around the league who are looking
(03:41):
at this organization and franchise is one that they want
to be a part of.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
I like that you went directly to the players as well.
The other stuff is the infrastructure that supports the team,
and it has to be right or else the team's
not going to reach its full potential, but you did
go straight to the core on the floor LaMelo Ball,
one of the youngest all stars in the game's history,
you know, questioning the talent that he's already shown on
(04:05):
the floor in the NBA in a short period of time.
Brandon Miller, as you mentioned, three time already Eastern Conference
Rookie of the Month, Mark Williams very strong. The course
seems to be there. What do you think of it
compared to other young trios or just generally speaking, cores
that teams have assembled around the NBA.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
When you look back to Orlando's rebuild from the post
Dwight Howard era back in twenty thirteen, twenty twelve era.
That was a storyline featured in my book that you
kindly mentioned at the top of this. A struggle that
I heard from a lot of people in that organization
at that time was it was difficult to have all
those pieces fit together from a roscas standpoint without having
that like lead dog and then a clear hierarchy and
(04:47):
a pecking order and kind of like a roll system.
Outside of that, and the fact that you have your bookends,
you have your point, your pick and roll combo went healthy.
Of course, of Lamela and Mark, and you've got this
two way really malleable, clearly a versatile skill set guy.
And Brandon who obviously has a super smooth shooting stroke
that my first time seeing him live in person at
(05:09):
the NBA level, not just Summer League. Even the range
behind the line, right, if anyone's watching these games, obviously
everyone listening to this show is he's shooting from thirty
feet sometimes. And I think that collection that one, three, five,
but the most important pieces on the floor, and you
can find connective guys in between that. As long as
you have that starting point and the fact that this
(05:31):
situation already does Lamel has already been anointed and all
Star Brandon seems to be well on his way to
being in that conversation, it is a massive, massive benefit
for any new head coach coming in here. For the
front office, it's going to be continued to shape under
Jeff Peterson. And to your point, yeah, everyone who will
be joining on that, anyone worth their salt, they will
all admit and recognize that they don't necessarily matter anywhere
(05:55):
near compared to how good the players are, how much
the talent rings out, and it's a really strong starting
point to have those three guys.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
The first step in terms of putting the core together
is finding the talent. The second step is seeing it
start to mature and hopefully make playoff runs and deep ones.
At that it's way too early to say for certain anything,
but as you evaluate it from your standpoint, where do
you see the ceiling potentially being for a trio like
LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Mark Williams.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
I think the goal before we get to the championships
is to just be a perennial playoff threat, right and
Orlando's another good example of that. This team coming in
right now where they take Pala number one. Last year,
they already had some pieces in place, but they put
together kind of like some winning principles on the defensive
side of the ball underhead coach Tamal Moseley last year
(06:46):
and that carried through to this season. And they've had
their ups and downs just like everyone else. But the
fact they've always been able to write that ship and
get back to the principles and the identity that establishes
themselves on that side of the ball is important. And
that's obviously something that Steve Clifford has made his calling
card throughout his career, and I think just from my
conversations and being around the staff, I would be surprised
(07:10):
if that teaching and his wisdom hasn't soaked pretty indefinitely
into a lot of the players here. And you hope
that that building block and that understanding of how team
defense is really kind of the necessity to win at
that level is a great starting point in addition to
all the talent that you have. So you hope that
(07:30):
these last six games that everyone keeps talking about trying
to not just win, but put your best foot forward,
to get better, to grow, to develop, You hope that
continues to add piece by piece and brick bury brick
and eventually the resources invested here, even seeing Vassa me
teach and Davis Burton's come after the trade deadline, just
that caliber of heightened NBA talent and professionalism, And I
(07:53):
think the greater clarity that exists here about how to
win games on a night to night level, on a
day to day basis on bringing that winning mentality to
the gym, to the plane, to the bus. That stuff
is starting now, and I think it is only going
to position everyone to put their best foot forward and
to really. I mean, I'm not saying that's the goal
next season here, I haven't heard that, but I think
(08:16):
without a doubt, if healthy, with another top you know,
hopefully three pick, depending on how the lottery falls, maybe
a couple moves on the margins with some cap space,
I think there's definitely a possibility this team could be
competing in that play in picture next season.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Jake Fisher, I guess today here on the Hornet's Sidecast,
senior NBA reporter for Yahoo Sports, that tipping point of
when you go over the edge of an accumulating talent
to now you are talent died and ready to make
a run.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
It can happen very fast.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
You mentioned Oklahoma City, Orlando, They've made those enormous jumps
this season to now being where they are. We've seen
it with Sacramento and other franchises recently. As you mentioned,
Charlotte already has LaMelo Ball. They have Brandon Miller Mark
Williams just outside of the lottery, but he was right
there on the edge of it and clearly has a
ton of talent and another top five pick or top
ten pick at minimum.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
I will see how the ping pong pulls fall here.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
For the Hornets, but we'll be coming into town and
Charlotte has accumulated multiple draft picks for the future as
well as has cap space.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
Where do you see the Hornets in terms.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Of being able to accumulate whatever those final few pieces
might be towards becoming that next team to make the jump.
How do you think the Hornets are positioned.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
To do that. We've talked about the core on the floor,
which is a great term from you. I think a
big piece just from a cap standpoint, and that math
does rule all team building. It's just the rigid guidelines
that every team has to work with. The So any
smart what we're thinking front office is already going to
be contemplating and considering the fact that Brandon Miller's going
(09:49):
to be getting a big paid at some point. Mark
Williams is going to be getting a big paiday at
some point. And it's the new nature of this new
collective bargain agreement that you're going to only have a
tight and tighter space to work with, and every little piece,
every twenty million dollar player on that roster, there's only
so many of those you can have now, So I
think a lot of it will be determined by that
(10:11):
and ultimately what other pieces that the Hornets want to
start to fit next to these other guys, whether it's
more of a connective playmaking fore man or a switchable
defensive guy in that spot, whether they want to find
just like a marksman three point shooting floor spacer at
that two spot in between the Metal and Brandon. That's
(10:32):
gonna be a big factor here.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Jake Fisher, our guests today on The Hornet's Podcast, Senior
NBA reporter for Yahoo Sports. You've been in Charlotte for
the Steve Clifford press conferences and announcement, and certainly an
eventful time for the organization. He's contributed so much to
the game, so much to the city of Charlotte in
this organization, and is renowned across the NBA for his
intellect and his expertise in the game in general and
(10:56):
in defense in particular. It's been pretty well laid out
now that he'll transition into a front.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Office role as the next step.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Where do you see him being the biggest contributor, Because
I see a lot of different areas. He's been pretty
committed to staying in his lane. He's the coach you
give him the talent. His job is to get the
most out of it and not necessarily to wade into
other waters. Now, maybe he can offer an opinion on players. Clearly,
there's no better person to test your defense against than
Steve Clifford. Maybe the only thing better is to try
(11:26):
and test your offense against him, because he's the guy
who's usually tasked with picking it apart. Where do you
see him having his biggest impact moving into a front
office role?
Speaker 4 (11:34):
It was interesting at that availability kind of learning that
there isn't necessarily an exact figure already established for him.
And I think to Sacramento where Alvin Gentry similar age
around sixty. When he departed from the Kings, they moved
him into a front office role. He's really enjoyed being
kind of an overall scout, Like I see him on
(11:57):
the road a lot in rival buildings in the media section,
doing player personnel scouting and evaluation, intel gathering and whatnot.
And he's told me that he thought that every front
office should have a long term veteran head coach in
it to also bring that day to day coaching perspective
into the more macro decision making that happens at kind
(12:18):
of like a thousand foot level from a front office standpoint,
someone who's actually in the gym, putting his hands on
guys sweating next to them, I think that does bring
a lot of different perspective. And Cliff being someone who
watches as much tape as anyone, who cares about teaching
this game as much as anyone, and who's just so
respected for being just a genuine, down to earth, really
(12:40):
really good guy. That's just whatever role he does find.
This could sound kitchy and corny, but I do think
just having him in the building's going to continue to
bring light and positivity and connection to the staff. So
it does seem like I said that they're still kind
of figuring that out. But to me, I think any
Hornets fan should be excited that he'll still be around
(13:01):
this building because he's going to contribute and he's going
to add and whatever capacity that.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Is, this Hornets fan is certainly very excited to keep
him around.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
My last question for you, their team is going to
obviously hire a new head coach, and they're going to
turn over every stone looking for all the best candidates.
Without going into particular people that will be up for
this job, I'm curious more your thought on why Charlotte
is an attractive destination. We've gone over a lot of
the reasons, but specifically for a head coach who is
(13:30):
clearly going to be looking to want to come in
and win and start cementing their legacy, either originally as
a head coach or further as a head coach. So
what makes this job, with all the infrastructure that's being built,
the new front office, the new ownership, the core on
the floor, what makes this job maybe more attractive than
others or the most attractive it could possibly be as
(13:53):
opposed to previous times that it's been opened in the past.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
To come into a building where you're gonna kind of
be like an early founder of a startup, where you're
going to help be able to shape the infrastructure and
just give a quick call to ownership and say hey
we need this and sniper fingers and it's going to
get there pretty soon. I think that's going to be very,
very intriguing to a lot of young coaches. There's only thirty,
(14:17):
but sometimes you do want to make sure that you're
going to a situation that you know you're going to
have a shelf life and at least three years minimum
to really establish our principles and start to build this
thing out and grow as much as you want your
players to grow too. You're going to have the runway
to do that here with that core we've talked about,
with the support you just mentioned, I think all that
combination together is going to be really, really intriguing for anybody.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Jake Fisher, senior NBA reporter for Yahoo Sports and the
author of Built to Lose, How the NBA's tanking era
changed the league Forever. Thanks so much for being so
generous with your time and thanks for being here with
us on the Hornets Podcast.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Thanks again to Jake Fisher for sitting down with us
in studio for this episode of the HHC talking about
the Hornets, their coaching search, the core players of the roster,
and everything else. Real pleasure to get his perspective on
the organization and where it's headed in the foreseeable futures.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Mention at the Onset.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Starting next week, we will be breaking down this twenty
three twenty four season, looking back at the tenure of
Hornets head coach Steve Clifford, forward at what Brandon Miller
and the Hornets might be capable of in the upcoming
twenty four to twenty five season and beyond. Rob Longo
and Sam Purley Hornets dot Com will start joining me
for those episodes, which we'll start next week. Till next
time for our guest Jake Fisher, for our producer Rob
(15:30):
Longo who helped put this podcast together, and most of all,
to all of you for tuning in. I'm Sam Farbers
saying it's been a pleasure and a privilege having you along. Well,
talk to you next time right here on the Hornets Ivecast.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Thank you for listening to the Hornets Podcast, brought to
you by Senta, the official i ear nosen Throadcare provider
of the Charlotte Hornets. For more coverage, visit Hornets dot com.
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