A Cautionary Tale: The 2022 Charlotte Hornets Offseason
Looking back on the months that set a franchise back half-a-decade.
The Charlotte Hornets had an undeniably fun season throughout 2025-26, beating every expectation of them along the way.
The team started 4-14 and then proceeded to become one of the best teams in the league for the final three months of the season. And though they ultimately met a disappointing end, it does not take away from the progress made along the way.
It’s truly reminiscent of the last time the Hornets made the play-in, though with a varying degree of expectations for that team.
In 2022, the Hornets found themselves with 43 wins (and the 10th overall seed in the East). They’d been wiped off the map by the Indiana Pacers in the play-in the year prior, so things were a bit amped up going into the 9/10 play-in game against the Atlanta Hawks.
The energy for this 2022 play-in match was different.
But ultimately, the Hornets were once again throttled. Another 30-point loss.
And so began the 2022 offseason.
The 2022 offseason was one of promise for the Hornets. It was one that many thought would be consequential - in one way or another. Most landed on the more optimistic side of that view.
It started just nine days after that play-in loss to the Hawks.
On April 22nd, 2022, the Charlotte Hornets made the decision to move on from then-head coach James Borrego.
The move caught some, myself included, a bit by surprise. Borrego had been one of the more instrumental figures in resurrecting a Hornets franchise that was dead in the water. He’d just seen the Hornets most-winning season in six seasons.
It appeared, though, the vibes weren’t very high for a large part of the late season. Borrego had lost the locker room.
It should not have been a surprise.
And so begins the most tumultuous coaching search I can personally remember.
I think the timeline here is important to keep track of.
The Hornets made the decision to fire James Borrego on April 22nd. Throughout the month of May, Charlotte took a while before narrowing down their list to two names: Mike D’Antoni and Kenny Atkinson.
On May 31st, Jake Fischer reported on the state of the Hornets coaching search:
At this juncture, former Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni and Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson are widely believed to be the final names under serious consideration to replace James Borrego. No candidate has met with Charlotte principal governor Michael Jordan, sources said, believed to be the final step in the Hornets’ search process. That round of interviews could begin as early as this week after Jordan returns from an out of market vacation.
Mind you, the other two teams that had coaching vacancies (Los Angeles Lakers & Sacramento Kings) had already hired new coaches at this point.
I want you to digest what was reported there.
The Hornets final decision-maker had not met with any coaching candidates because he was on vacation - one which he decided to take after firing his basketball team’s head coach.
So now, it’s May 31st. The NBA Draft is in 24 days. The NBA combine took place a week and a half ago. The Hornets’ owner hasn’t met with any coaching candidates.
Is that not crazy?
Anyways, on June 10th, the Hornets finally settle on their guy: Kenny Atkinson.
Atkinson was viewed as a solid hire by those on the outside. He came from a pretty successful stint in Brooklyn, heading teams that usually over performed relative to expectations.
So that’s it, right? The Hornets have their coach?
They did, for about a week.
“Further conversations led Atkinson to believe it would be best to remain with Warriors.”
And here’s the only thing I’ll say about this: Atkinson had his reasons for backing out, but it’s imperative to realize that there are only 30 NBA head coaching jobs. Coaches don’t just back out for no reason.
My personal theory is that it simply came down to the Hornets being an organization that was more cost-conscious than the rest of the league. There were less resources (especially compared to Golden State, where Atkinson was an assistant) and the assistant coaching budget was one of the lowest in the league.
Anyways. It’s now June 18th and the Hornets still don’t have a head coach.
So for a team that had to get a lot right in the offseason, things aren’t going super well.
Now, in all likelihood, Charlotte was going into a draft (with two top-15) picks without a coach.
The Hornets were the first team since 2010 to enter the draft without a full-time head coach.
The last team to do it before Charlotte?
The 2010 Cleveland Cavaliers. And they didn’t have any draft picks.
Let’s take a pause from the coaching search for a bit. Let’s dive into the 2022 NBA Draft - it was a really interesting one.
The Hornets got a second first-round pick from trading Devonte’ Graham in the prior offseason to the New Orleans Pelicans.
So now, they hold picks 13 and 15 in a draft class that has some promising young talent. And here’s the other thing: the Hornets need two-way wings and a starting center. There will be an opportunity to get both of those things.
Here are the players most commonly placed in Charlotte in Mock Drafts:
Mark Williams
Jalen Duren
Tari Eason
Jalen Williams
AJ Griffin
Duren and Williams were the two most common, by far. But the others were heavily linked to Charlotte, as well.
The other question the Hornets had was that of a roster crunch. Most found it unlikely that they’d spend both of those first-round picks. That could mean a trade for a player, a consolidation of assets, or something else - but most thought Charlotte would make some sort of move.
That, too, was in part due to the team adding two top-20 picks in the draft prior - James Bouknight and Kai Jones. Neither of those guys had a real role on the 2021-2022 Hornets, so adding two more young guys was viewed as a fraught idea.
The night of the draft arrives, and the Hornets are on the clock with the 13th overall pick.
It’s Jalen Duren, who most would have considered to be a “steal” in that range of the draft.
We have a trade to announce. The Hornets are trading the draft rights to Jalen Duren to Detroit.
There it is. At first, there was a bit of uncertainty for a few minutes on what the actual compensation was.
Then, we had the news:
The Hornets had traded away a lottery pick for a much, much worse 1st rounder and four second round picks.
It’s hard for words to describe asset management this poor.
Anyways, there’s still another pick to be made - this time at No. 15 overall.
The Pick Is In. The Hornets have selected Duke C Mark Williams.
Okay, not bad, but still a consensus worse center than Duren, who the team traded away for pennies just two picks ago.
All in all, a pretty pathetic draft night from Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak and Co.
And while the Mark Williams pick was fine on face value, the process of how the draft was executed really stuck with people.
The combination of not having a coach plus the confusion around draft-night maneuvering wasn’t a good look for the Hornets’ decision-makers. But they could still turn things around. End of day, this was a promising team that just needs the right coach and free agency moves to become a playoff contender.
JUNE 24th, 2022 - THE DAY AFTER THE DRAFT
Wait, what?
The Hornets hired the guy that they moved on from just four years earlier?
Really???
Look, I get it. Steve Clifford, at this point, is basically Hornets royalty. He’s a highly respected coach. But man, hiring him after swinging and missing out on both Kenny Atkinson and Mike D’Antoni is rough and reeks of desperation.
I guess having a defensive-minded anchor like Mark Williams makes more sense with a coach like Cliff, though.
This, by and large, just felt like a hiring that was safe, a fallback plan, and a move where decision-makers took the easy way out.
Okay, whatever, let’s just get to free agency. Let’s try to salvage this somehow. I mean, even Steve Clifford is speaking highly of the existing roster:
“This is the most talented of any team I’ve coached as a head coach.” (via Rod Boone)
Not for long.
One day before free agency is set to begin, pending Hornets restricted free agent Miles Bridges (widely considered the team’s second-best player) is arrested in Los Angeles following the alleged assault of this then-girlfriend and mother of his two children.
He’s formally charged the following month, and it becomes clear he won’t be playing basketball during the 2022-23 season.
I don’t want to dive deep into this for many reasons, but here’s what I’ll say: it derailed not only Charlotte’s plan to sign Bridges to a long-term contract, but also the rest of their free agency plans.
You can only do so much when the player you’re revolving your free agency plans around suddenly becomes unavailable the day before free agency begins.
The only move that Charlotte made in free agency was signing Dennis Smith Jr. to a small, one-year deal.
Let’s recap, shall we?
April 22nd: Hornets fire James Borrego after disappointing play-in loss to Hawks.
May 31st: Hornets extend head coaching search until Michael Jordan returns from vacation. They will be the last team to fill their vacancy.
June 10th: Hornets hire Kenny Atkinson as head coach.
June 18th: Kenny Atkinson backs out of Hornets coaching job.
June 23rd: Hornets trade 13th overall pick (Jalen Duren) to Detroit for a late 2023 first-round pick and four second-round picks. They also select Mark Williams at No. 15 overall.
June 24th: Hornets re-hire Steve Clifford as head coach.
June 29th: Miles Bridges arrested in Los Angeles.
June 30th: NBA Free Agency begins. The Hornets do nothing.
September 23rd: Hornets sign Dennis Smith to a minimum deal.
Here’s hoping 2026 is different.
(It will be.)