Charles Lee's tenure with the Boston Celtics will last all of one season.
The Celtics' lead assistant coach will be the new head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, the franchise announced Thursday morning. Lee's contract will run through 2028, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
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Lee, who joined the Celtics last June after five seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, is Boston's lead assistant under head coach Joe Mazzulla. Lee will remain with the Celtics for the rest of their playoff run before joining the Hornets full-time, per Wojnarowski.
The 39-year-old has risen quickly through the NBA coaching ranks after winning an NBA championship on Mike Budenholzer's Bucks staff in 2021. Lee and Sam Cassell were new additions to the Celtics' coaching staff last summer and helped lift Boston to its fourth-best regular season in franchise history at 64-18.
The Los Angeles Lakers also had interest in Lee for their head coach opening after parting ways with Darvin Ham. Instead, Lee will head to Charlotte to replace Steve Clifford, who stepped down after the Hornets' 21-61 season.
He'll have his work cut out for him, as Charlotte hasn't made the playoffs since 2016 and has had just one winning season in that span.
Fortunately for the Celtics, Lee's work with the Hornets will have to wait until after their playoff run. The C's own a 1-0 series lead in their Eastern Conference semifinals matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers entering Game 2 at TD Garden.
