Media Availability: Head Coach Steve Clifford Stepping Down

Media Availability: Head Coach Steve Clifford Stepping Down

I mean I’ll just get right to it you know I think that uh there’s a certain energy level um that you need to be able to have a chance to coach effectively in this league um I think probably the for me the last couple of years with the

Losing uh has been a factor in it but uh as we have been meeting and discussing things you know I’m just not comfortable that I have the you know that I can I’m ready right now uh to you know give the players what they need from a head coach

In order to play well every night and uh so as you know we talked in this last few weeks um Jeff Rick Gabe and I um you know it’s just I I can’t do this right now so it’s just best for me to step aside you know they’ve been great um

Jeff and I OB had a relationship that goes back for some time and you know I think there’s a possibility or good possibility that I can work for him which would be something that I would look forward to um and that’s where we’re at thanks coach um yeah I I just want to

First start by saying really appreciate Cliff um it’s a challenging situation but as he said we’ve been in lock step this whole time so our relationship has been a huge factor in it and just want to say thank you to him for all the time the energy everything that he’s put into

This city the Carolina this team this franchise um he’s amazing he’s amazing person he’s a really really good coach uh he’s unfortunately dealt with some situations some circumstances that have been kind of out of his hand um injuries things like that so um maybe the record wasn’t as indicative of just him being

Able to you know as good of a coach as he is but um with that said he he just alluded to a little bit I I’m really excited about this next phase of of him being able to stay on with the franchise and um there’s I don’t want to age them

But there’s a lot of experience there’s a lot of experience over there that I’ll be uh leaning leaning on so um as again as challenging as the situation is I’m really excited that that we’ll be able to um remain close through this process questions raise

Your start um Jeff you talk a little bit about you know clip potentially taking on a continu div RO with the organization what are some of the things that you uh particularly enjoyed about what he’s brought to this organization uh and Brookman as well that you’re

Hoping to kind of continue on in this next step yeah I think again I want to start with just who he is as a person he’s a man of integrity um he has a wealth of knowledge experience at the same time I think one of the things that the church that I’m

Most attracted to about him he’s a lifelong learner so he’s he’s going to teach me a lot in this role but at the same time he’s curious and wants to figure something out so I’m excited to be able to do that with him uh together coach this one’s for you uh you

Spoke at the introductory coach luncheon two years ago about how badly you were to make a postseason run before you ended it as a head coach here in the NBA is that something that would drive you to potentially come back as a head coach down the line and could you get the same

Fulfillment as a front office guy be postseason run yeah I mean I hope so I think that um I mean as we sit here today my my focus is on these last seven games you know um you know I want to you know when Jeff his first meeting with the players

His emphasis was on we want to finish playing good basketball and I’m proud of what the guys have done you know we’re playing games that are not meaningful games in terms of the playoffs like and yet these last two games are back to back against two really terrific teams

You know we’re right there there you know it’s 3 minutes here four minutes there and I think that’s how younger players grow and I know he feels that same way and so that’s my first focus is I want this next whatever it is 10 11 days to be meaningful you know for for

Brandon for Trey for Nick Smith they can all learn um in terms of like my coaching career like to me there’ll be a time to self-reflect after that after that um I will say this look um it’s not what I wanted it to be um and yet look I don’t know many people

Have had a better life than I have I love this I love the games uh I love coaching um they’re the best players in the world uh that part you know I’ll sit down some night with a glass of wine by myself and you know whatever but it’s not time for now in

Terms of the next phase of the opportunity to learn from Jeff is that is something that truly excites me and you know we have talked you know more so we’ve talked a lot here working but in Brooklyn we would just sit you know I was a consultant we would sit we would watch

Practice he came to a lot of the staff meetings in Brooklyn um you know whether it was playoff prep or whatever it was and we just talked basketball we talked about players and so I mean he has great he has a great basketball mind and we

Just get along with so that part of it I think the working together piece now and everything that we do for you guys too right being able to work with the people effectively that you’re near every day is a big thing and I’m really comfortable and excited about that well

Next question for you too what do you want your front office role to be kind of responsibility you envision having in this next phase I mean I think you know because I’m getting a lot of texts about you know I think people would look at it and say you know maybe there’s an

Advisory role you like the a lot of NFL teams right they have an offensive advisor you know like the the Panthers had this year I think it was like Jim Caldwell right um and that part listen I would love to do that I think it’d be

Fun I I’m also and and and Jeff knows this I’d be just as uh interested in learning the draft learning how to do free agency um I don’t want to do the cap and stuff like that no but me me neither but no no just learning from him

And the other guys of you know I don’t know anything about the front office um so like that part is really exciting to me Jeff in terms of what you’re looking for for the next head coach how much do you have that somewhat figured out how

Much do you want to learn as you go throughout the process and how comfortable would you be if someone were to have this job as their first job as a head coach in the NBA yeah no I’m really excited um to initiate that process I’ll lead that process in in terms of

Finding the next head coach for the Charlotte Hornets uh in terms of what I’m looking for you know I want guys who are going to be uh a true partner with uh not only the front office but ownership performance team um obviously someone who can hold the players

Accountable relate to the players and get the best out of them uh communicate to them teach them effectively um someone who’s competitive so those are those are a few traits that I’ll be looking for uh as I approach this this next process mik said Charlotte sports live

In terms of you know we still got seven games left to go in the season how important was this announcement for it to happen today so you can get out necessarily in front of the search and maybe beat some other teams that are thinking of making similar moves yeah

Very important I I think that’s again one of the things that uh cliff and I talked about in terms of timing um again ultimately it was his decision but respect him because he didn’t have to say like let’s do it today but that definitely factored into it there’s

Going to be a uh I think a handful of teams that are looking to replace replace their current coach or find a new coach um so us being able to get a bit of a head start in that space is is very important John WCC Charlotte coach you’re always very self-aware and

Realistic but this second round in Charlotte how much did it really drive home how hard it is to build a team and to make them go from a spot to maybe a cont yeah I mean you’ve got to have a lot of things I mean um internally everybody pulling in

The same direction um a lot of things and you also need to have health you know I mean we went I think right now we’re like 28th and games missed by rotation players last year I think we were 29th and that doesn’t I’m not sure that counts the miles games last year

Either and it’s hard you know um you know one of the things is cuz I do think it’s an exciting time to be part of this um I think the leadership the ownership uh Jeff and then I also think we do have a good young core you know we just played

Boston and I was watching our first game that when we beat them here you know Melo had 369 and8 Mark had 18 points 16 rebounds so uh when people you know question or sometimes you know it’s out of sight out of mind those guys haven’t played for a

Long time and you can fit forget about how much potential each of them have and how different we could be if they were out on the floor so there there is a foundation here um you always want to find ways to get better externally and internally but there is a good

Foundation of talent here darl horwood Green City nerve uh you mentioned injuries and that’s been the difficulty that you had to deal with the last two years since you came back and I think I asked you a while back about training I are these injuries just like freak things that are

Happening or is it something in the routine Hornet have had injuries before in the past two so it’s not you know first year thing so how is there something that you think needs to change with that and how frustrating has it been for you that you couldn’t have the

Full compliment of players to be able to accomplish what you’ve been trying to accomplish yeah I mean the big thing in these two years listen this wasn’t a lot of pulled groins or calves and stuff these were broken bones and you know Mark got back you know the back stuff

Which is bone related also so these were significant injuries they were major injuries I don’t you know I don’t think you can um blame anybody for that that’s just part of the league I mean I’ll I’ll go back to if you want to look at this Performance Group the two years before I

Got here they were second and third in health you know uh three years ago miles played 77 Melo played 75 Terry played 73 and Cody Martin played 71 I mean that’s a recipe for continuity and establishing a way to play that you need so a lot of is just

Luck question for Jeff Brandon Miller mentioned this morning how he appreciated coach for not sure changing anyone of his honesty how valuable can that be in an advisory role in the front office very very cuz I’m sure they’ll get sick of hearing from me and whoever

We end up hiring as a new coach so you know I think Cliff will be kind of that um you know that person that they can go to and confide in at times so one thing about him you guys know he always shoots it straight and regardless of who you

Are you may not like it in the moment but the players respect that and I think having that familiar face and voice uh still within the organization is going to be very valuable Cliff obviously you’ve had a lot of great memories here with the Hornets for these both both times you’ve

Been here is there something that really kind of stands out to you that you’re going to take away from this place that you’re really going to remember as your with all your time here that doesn’t involve mik foral I’m not even touching um no you know I I you know I’m

Not there yet it’s a good question everything I just don’t like you know I you know we talk every day I and Rick and you know Gabe calls in I want to to finish strong you know I want us to play the right way and uh

Like if you want the players to think that way we got to be thinking that way and they have done that so that’s where I’m at um there’ll be time this summer or maybe a couple years from now look I’ve told you guys this from from the

Beginning and I mean it is for me I have lived a dream you know and this just happened to me you know I I didn’t grow I was my plan was to be a special ed teacher in a high school coach and stuff just kept happening so to be able to

Look back on it with you know right now it’s melow miles Brandon like that before that it was Kemba and those guys but you know I’ve been blessed all the way through and it’s and it’s not just the players it’s the people that you work with it’s the people that you get to

Meet um but I don’t want to go there yet you know I want to be focused on this game tonight on Orlando on Friday on Oklahoma City Sunday and I want our guys to play well Jeff I know that you and Rick obviously had history together in terms

Of having guys who would be in your circle before how much will you lean on it you know coming from somebody that you guys have a a Common Thread with in terms of your history or will you try to look outside of that and be more exhaustive in that search yeah know Gabe

Rick and I are completely aligned from that standpoint of we’re going to it’s going to be a thorough search thorough process so I I think um of course there are some people that I’ve known in my past and been able to overlap with but I’m really excited to talk to some new

Candidates that I don’t have um I would say as an extensive history with um because again you can just learn so much so we’ll be uh we’ll be very thorough in that in that search question question is for you rather de brown from channel on the decision itself when did you know when

Was that moment that you knew that now was the time um I mean this again this has been going on for weeks as you know that we’ve discussed things and um you just get to the point I think anyway for me again is you know I just don’t see myself in

These next few months having the right energy level you know having the ability to you know get up every day look I’m just like you right I mean your best days start when you feel good that’s the way it is is when you’re driving in if

You feel not at your best you usually don’t have a great day you got to get up and one thing about this is that you’re dealing with the best players in the world and motivation starts with yourself to me every day you know so before you can try to get you know

Brandon’s easy one because he’s self-motivated anyway but before you can get those guys to have a good practice you got to get yourself in the right place and when that becomes difficult to do you know you have to look around I I was say this the grind of this season at

62 is a lot tougher for me than it was at say 55 56 and you know um it sucks to be honest I mean cuz I do love this I enjoy it but you also have to think about the players and think about the organization and you know I love

Charlotte too I love the fans here people are great to me um and uh I’ve enjoyed this whole thing even the losing this two years has been very very difficult but I’ve loved the players you I love Terry Rosier I can say that Melo I mean what miles has done this year in

Terms of miles has played 86 minutes in two games people don’t do that in this league so there were so many things to feel good about um you know but again you got to do your part and you know what when you’re the head coach you

Can’t pick and choose now and if you don’t think you can get yourself to that level every day it’s not fair to try to do it first one for Cliff and then I have one for what would be the best piece of advice we give to the person who does

End up replacing you here there’s no one way to do it you got to figure out to me any leadership position you got to know yourself you got to know your situation in this case it’s the NBA you got to know how you’re going to be comfortable leading uh and

Then you have to figure out the best way you can lead the team so they can win and that’s it um I don’t think that regardless of who you work for you know like look I work for Jeff and Stan Van Gundy I’m not as dynamic as they are nor

As smart no I’m being serious about that I work for Mike dantony I’m not as creative um but I have found a common place in this league where when I worked hard when I worked at having relationships with the players I could be pretty good at it and you’ve got to

Figure out how you best can do it and that’s what I would say for do you have a Target date of when you’d like the search to be completed by and also executiv we talk about how hard it is to really understand how good a coach is

Without being in the building and seeing them every day what’s the mechanisms or ways to kind of overcome that hurdle understand how suiz of the task yeah I think uh as far as Target day goes again this is this position’s too important to to put a date on it right I’m going to

Take as long as I need to take to to fill it um um you know and truthfully told I’ve I’ve started the interview process 10 years ago right in terms of meeting people and um creating relationships with people seeing how they interact whether it’s watching them coach at

Summer League or national teams and things like that so I I try to always uh observe and and figure out a time to evaluate so it is challenging but at the same time like all that won’t be an excuse right we’re all dealing with the kind of the same challenges as it

Relates to that so I have uh a lot of confidence that I’ll be able to figure that out Steve you kind of already answered the the questions as to why um and glad it’s not more serious than this than just the grind of everything I think we

All get that so I just go off the ball anything outside of basketball that with more free time you’re looking forward to do I mean I’m not sure I’m going to work any less you know like I’m not I’m not ready to to um I want to be helpful you know what

I mean like I want him to look back and say you know what this is good what we created here you know this guy helped us he he did find a way so it’s not the work part like I don’t think my problem is the work part I think is the being in

Charge part to be honest with you like I don’t even now I love to sit in there and watch film The Harder part for me is coming that look when you step on the floor with these guys if you want it to be good you got you got to be on it

Can’t have bad days you they’re going to challenge you just because of the nature of if you’re going to get good at it there has to be a certain intensity and concentration level and some of them don’t want to do that every day and if you can’t establish a way to practice

Right to me you’re not going to reach your potential so you know you can’t you know it’s not hey three lines and clap when they do things poorly it doesn’t work that way and that’s the part that you know I’m not as I mean whatever I mean it’s harder for

Me you know what I mean like five years ago I didn’t feel like it took that much like I’m having to get myself ready you know for that stuff and and you know it’s just taken too much out of me frankly we have two more talk about that

Grind you talk about not having the energy is is a part of just the business has changed a little I know 1983 was your first year of coaching has the art of it evolves and and how how tough is it to adjust to that well definit I mean

It’s definitely different now even than 3 four you know the clientele is just different and it’s still great but the challenges look they’re younger um frankly they’re not as prepared to come into the league as they used to be um so yeah there’s more people involved you know they they’ve

Always had their people now they their people got their people you know um yeah so there’s definitely more to it than it used to and you know what I be that’s a good maybe that’s part of it too just wonder what makes this Hest job coaching job in your mind a good job

Somebody come in here and Pi on top of that what’s your checklist that you want to see for next coach coach what do you want to see most about bring yeah I think look I’ll start kind of what I was talking about at my initial press conference

Um ownership with with Rick and Gabe first and foremost um as I told you guys like that was a huge why I took the job um just because of my belief in in in them as individuals as people and then just their vision and values with us

Being aligned so I think whoever we bring in here uh will certainly fit fit into those vision and values as well um you know the Carolinas in general I don’t want to again just limit it to Charlotte like Charlotte’s an amazing City the fans are amazing but there’s

Support all over this this region so uh and then of course you know as Cliff was saying earlier just in terms of the young young core and the roster with whether it’s Brandon Melo Mark miles um just those guys there’s a lot to be excited about so I think uh all of those

Factors will um be attractive to whoever you know whoever we decide to hire as the next head coach and what you want to see most of the next head youth is it experience is what do you want to see from next yeah I think look I think it’s

Uh there’s a few things but one just a a lively energy um just to come in and a level of excitement toach teach these guys as Cliff was saying it’s a it’s a different generation so the ability to teach them and um help them retain information is important so that that’s

Going to be important but you know Player Development we are still relatively in this youthful phase and um at the same time I think everyone can get better I don’t care how old you are and how many years of service you have in this league you can always find a way

To get better um so you know a coach who who really truly places emphasis in that area as well thanks everyone appreciate your time today

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