Hornets to interview interesting name for head-coaching job

The Hornets have been granted permission to interview the Kings’ G League coach, Lindsey Harding, for their head coaching opening, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Harding was named the league’s Coach of the Year in her first season. The former WNBA star coached the Stockton Kings to the Western Conference Finals. Stockton was defeated by the Oklahoma City Blue on Sunday.

Harding was hired to coach Sacramento’s NBAGL affiliate last June. Harding spent the past four seasons as an assistant/player development coach with the NBA’s Kings.

The Hornets’ decision to interview a woman for their head coaching job isn’t unprecedented, but hiring one would be groundbreaking. Current WNBA coach Becky Hammon, a former Spurs assistant, interviewed for numerous NBA head coaching openings before taking the WNBA Las Vegas Aces job.

Steve Clifford announced earlier this month he would be stepping down from the Hornets’ job at the end of the season. Several NBA assistants have already benn granted permission to interview for Charlotte’s opening, including Charles Lee (Celtics), Jordi Fernandez (Kings), Kevin Young (Suns) and David Adelman (Nuggets).