Tag: Charles Lee

Mark Jackson among candidates for Kings coaching job

Report: Charles Lee, Willie Green finalists for Pelicans head coach job

The Pelicans are reportedly circling in on Suns assistant Willie Green and Bucks assistant Charles Lee as finalists for head coach.

The New Orleans Pelicans are still circling in on a head coach but appear to be targeting a new finalist as they wrap up the interview process. After Jacque Vaughn pulled out of consideration for the Pelicans and other franchises last week, Phoenix Suns assistant Willie Green has taken his spot as the new finalist for New Orleans, per Marc Stein.

The mainstay throughout the search is Milwaukee’s Charles Lee. Also according to Stein, Pelicans assistant Fred Vinson completed his interview for the position as well. Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer first reported that Vinson would be interviewed for the position last week.

In a podcast appearance last week, Stan Van Gundy endorsed Vinson as the Pelicans’ next head coach. With interviews seemingly finished or wrapping up, it’s likely the Pelicans will announce a head coach in the coming days or week, particularly considering the NBA draft and free agency are fast approaching.

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Report: Jacque Vaughn, Charles Lee strongest candidates for Pelicans coaching vacancy

Brooklyn’s Jacque Vaughn and Milwaukee’s Charles Lee have reportedly emerged as the most serious candidates for the Pelicans coaching vacancy.

With nearly two weeks having passed since the firing of Stan Van Gundy, little has leaked of the Pelicans’ search for a replacement. No reports of any interviews with candidates have leaked, but reports of frontrunner candidates have emerged.

The latest report from NOLA.com’s Christian Clark notes that Brooklyn assistant Jacque Vaughn and Milwaukee assistant Charles Lee were the top candidates:

“At this stage, there are two candidates who are viewed as the strongest contenders to get the job, league sources said: Brooklyn Nets assistant Jacque Vaughn and Milwaukee Bucks assistant Charles Lee.”

Vaughn’s strong candidacy is not new as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported something similar in recent days. Lee is another intriguing candidate with similarities to Vaughn. Both are younger candidates than the last two coaches for New Orleans in Van Gundy and Alvin Gentry.

Lee does not have the head coaching experience that Vaughn does. After spending two years as an assistant at his alma mater Bucknell, Lee spent four seasons as an assistant with the Hawks before joining the Bucks’ staff in 2018.

Both candidates would be player coaches, a change from Van Gundy who had a stressed relationship with his players. But as important as it is to find a coach that can relate to the players, it’s equally important for the Pelicans to do it quickly.

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Few assistant coaches saw a bigger …

Few assistant coaches saw a bigger season-to-season jump in our informal poll than Charles Lee, 35, who’s in his sixth season working under Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta and now Milwaukee. Fans of Lee, who played professionally overseas before spending a couple of years as an equity trader on Wall Street, tout him as a five-tool coach who is every bit as comfortable having meaningful conversations with a backup point guard as he is dining with a team owner. Those who have worked with him say he has an intuitive sense of how to inspire improvement from players but also understands high-level strategy and the preparation required to implement it. He is, in the words of one peer, someone who is “categorically going to be an NBA head coach.”