Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee has provided his thoughts on the team's championship addition at the NBA trade deadline.
The Charlotte Hornets not only acquired Coby White at the NBA trade deadline, but they also made another sneaky last-second move to try and bolster their playoff hopes: they landed forward Xavier Tillman.
Hornets head coach Charles Lee knows Tillman well from their Boston Celtics days. In fact, Lee and Tillman won a championship together with the Celtics in 2024 when Lee was serving as an assistant coach.
So, Lee knows exactly what Tillman brings to the table, and he is certainly excited to have the former NBA champion aboard for the stretch run.
"We’re really excited to have X and his family joining the Hornets family," Lee told reporters. “Number one, as a human being, he’s a phenomenal man and father. He showed me a ton as a person when I was in Boston, which definitely stood out to me. Then on top of that, just his overall professionalism."
Lee added that Tillman's attitude never changed in Boston regardless of the situation.
Xavier Tillman. Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images."He came in every day, worked hard whether he was in the rotation or not," Lee said. "He took every individual workout seriously, every stay-ready group game seriously. During the games, whether he was in or out, he stayed super engaged and very vocal."
Tillman didn't get a ton of playing time in Beantown, but when he was called upon, he was ready, like in Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals when he played 11 pivotal minutes off the bench after an injury to Kristaps Porzingis.
That championship experience should definitely help an inexperienced Hornets squad that has been red hot over the last month, having won 10 of its last 11 games to emerge as a serious playoff contender in the Eastern Conference.
Whether or not Tillman actually receives significant playing time in Charlotte remains to be seen. He played one minute in his Hornets debut and has averaged 15.6 minutes per game since entering the league with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020.
But there is no question that his presence will be felt in Charlotte's locker room, and clearly, Lee is excited for it.
The Hornets will face the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.
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