Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla had words for his assistant Charles Lee, who is set to become the new head coach of the Charlotte Hornets next season via a four-year deal.
When asked about Charles Lee’s new gig, Joe Mazzulla said he is proud of his colleague since his appointment is long overdue after being an NBA assistant for 10 years. However, after praising Lee, Mazzulla made a sarcastic remark, which drew some laughs from the media.
“Everybody hates you. Get used to it. You’re no longer the nice, shiny toy,” Mazzulla joked.
Turning serious, Joe Mazzulla added that the Boston Celtics plan to hire Charles Lee’s replacement from within.
“When you have the structure that we have as far as talented young guys, you just be as patient as you can knowing that there’s a process in order of how you try to go about doing it. Especially when you want to keep as many people around as you can. So, just got to go through that process,” Mazzulla shared.
Charles Lee and Joe Mazzulla are fully focused on the Boston Celtics
In the meantime, Charles Lee, who joined the staff in June, will remain with Joe Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics for the rest of the postseason before joining the Charlotte Hornets full-time.
The Boston Celtics have bigger problems than Lee’s looming departure, as they just lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 118-94 score on Thursday night to knot the second-round series to one game apiece.
Jayson Tatum had a team-high 25 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, but he only went 7-of-17 from the field. Jaylen Brown had 19 points and four rebounds but went 0-of-6 from three-point range.