CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s one thing to say Steve Clifford didn’t burn any bridges when he got fired as the Charlotte Hornets’ coach in 2018, and that has helped him return to the exact same job four years later.
It’s quite another to realize how far that “no bridges burned” concept went. An example given in Clifford’s introductory — well, re-introductory — press conference Tuesday brought it home.
When the Hornets hired Mitch Kupchak as their new general manager in April 2018, one of the very first things he did was to fire Clifford. Kupchak tried to let him down gently — he knew Clifford from the time the two had worked together for the L.A. Lakers. But still, he fired the coach within a few days of getting to Charlotte.
