Top Celtics Assistant Leaving Boston To Become NBA Head Coach

The Charlotte Hornets on Thursday named Boston Celtics assistant Charles Lee the franchise’s 12th head coach.

The first-time head coach will receive a four-year deal, and he’ll begin his new venture after the C’s playoff run.

Charlotte last month secured permission to interview Lee and other candidates after Steve Clifford was relieved of his duties to move into the team’s front office. Lee’s hiring reunites the longtime assistant with Jeff Peterson, who was in the front office when Lee was on Mike Budenholzer’s staff in the mid-2010s.

“The opportunity to be the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets is a dream come true,” Lee said in a press release. “I want to thank Rick Schnall, Gabe Plotkin and Jeff Peterson for the trust they are placing in me to lead this team. The Hornets have a talented young core of players and I’m excited about our future and what we can build here. There are few places as passionate about basketball as the Carolinas, and I look forward to coming to Charlotte and getting to work.”

Lee joined Boston as Joe Mazzulla’s top assistant last summer, and he joins Will Hardy as a fellow assistant to join the NBA head coaching ranks. The Hornets went 21-61 this season.