Report: Hornets' Steve Clifford Not Expected to Be Fired After 2022-23 NBA Season

It appears Steve Clifford will get a second season with the Charlotte Hornets.

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, "the organization's present leadership structure has no intention of making a change" when it comes to their head coach. However, Fischer cautioned "there remains the potential for a new ownership structure to oversee staffing changes, and Clifford's short-term contract would present little obstacle for fresh Hornets leadership to pick a new play caller of its choosing."

That is notable since team governor Michael Jordan is looking into selling a portion of his stake with the team.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported last month that Jordan was "engaged in serious talks to sell a majority stake in the franchise to a group led by Hornets minority owner Gabe Plotkin and Atlanta Hawks minority owner Rick Schnall."

In such a scenario, the Hall of Famer who paid $275 million for his majority stake in 2010 would still hold onto a minority stake in the Hornets.

As for Clifford, Charlotte hired him as its head coach ahead of the 2022-23 campaign after firing James Borrego. The team is just 26-54 on the season, which is quite the dropoff after going 43-39 in 2021-22.

To be fair to Clifford, LaMelo Ball has played just 36 games, while Gordon Hayward has appeared in 50. There is not enough high-quality depth on the roster to survive such significant injuries and remain in the playoff race, especially in a strong Eastern Conference this season.

That may be considered if the front office decides to give him another opportunity.

Clifford is a veteran coach who was an assistant for the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers before his first chance as the head coach of Charlotte for five seasons starting in 2013-14.

He made the playoffs twice in that span but never advanced past the first round.

Clifford then coached the Magic for three seasons and made the postseason twice, although one of those appearances came with a losing record during the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

The 61-year-old is still attempting to make it past the first round as a head coach and will seemingly get another chance in Charlotte in 2023-24.