The Charlotte Hornets finally closed out their season on Sunday. With that, the head coach, the general manager, and the players all got in front of the media to take questions in a sort of exit interview of sorts. It’s a lot of minutes of video to watch. If you want the quick recap of those press conferences, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s what head coach Charles Lee and general manager Jeff Peterson had to say after their first seasons in their respective roles.

Charles Lee

• Lee spoke highly of the fan support the Hornets got even as the season went south and he’s very excited about what is next
• He’s proud of how the players grew but challenged them to build off that this summer
• The team gets the benefit of an early start to the offseason; the players need to take advantage and get stronger and more prepared for the rigors of an NBA season
• LaMelo Ball’s availability is vital to the team’s success and he knows the work he needs to put in to get stronger over the offseason
• LaMelo’s priorities for improvement are improving physically and improving his game management
• Challenged the core of LaMelo, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Mark Williams to lead by example and put the work in this summer
• Very happy for Seth Curry and his 3-point percentage title and credited the development staff for helping players young and old play their best
• He needs to continue to build his relationships with his players and learn how to connect with them in the best ways possible
• Noted how the defense improved for a stretch in the middle of the season before falling off; wants to figure out what was working during that improved stretch of play. He also will deep dive into the offense to see how they can get better shots and take better care of the ball.
• Mark Williams is very close to be a force defensively. He just needs to get a little quicker and more confident with his movement. He’s already very good offensively and will only get better with more strength and conditioning.

Lee was pretty adamant about players improving their strength and conditioning over the offseason, so that’s clearly a very important point of emphasis for the organization. I don’t recall ever seeing a Hornets coach speak so frequently about the importance of that. I appreciated his general candor about his expectations and what he wants to see players improve on. He seems to know what it takes for this team to get better.

Jeff Peterson

• Peterson’s first answer of substance mirrored what Charles Lee said about LaMelo Ball’s availability and his importance to the success of the team
• LaMelo can be as good as he wants to be; he wants to see him elevate his presence on the defensive end and grow as a leader
• Didn’t want to go into detail about the Mark Williams almost-trade but credited Williams with his professionalism reintegrating into the team afterwards
• Wants to put a sustainable winning product on the floor but noted that there are plenty of examples of teams digging themselves into holes trying to make that happen too quickly. They’ll be patient and diligent building the team.
• Brandon Miller is a couple months away from getting back on the court but credited him with upping his engagement mentally when he couldn’t participate physically
• He declined to comment on the Lakers’ funny business backing out of the Williams trade
• It’s tough to evaluate the roster with how little the main guys were healthy all season, but that’s the nature of the beast
• Shouted out the front office of the Swarm for leading them to their first ever playoff appearance and developing players that were able to contribute to the Hornets when needed
• Said Tidjane Salaün had a season that looked like the second youngest player in the league. He was drafted for his intangibles and he trusts that those will help him maximize his potential.
• He’s aware of the franchise’s drought but that’s not going to pressure them to rush into trying to chase an immediate playoff appearance
• Lee was hired for his player development and ability to hold players accountable and did well with those things this season. The win/loss record is not a fair way to judge him as a coach.
• He talks frequently with ownership and they do a great job providing resources to the front office but don’t do too much meddling with the basketball decisions

Peterson, like Lee, was mostly very candid with his answers. And like Lee, there was a consistent thread that weaved through many of his answers. He frequently reiterated the need to be patient and diligent as they build this team sustainably. Without impatient owners to undermine him, it seems like he’s going to play the long game as he builds this team. It’ll be interesting to see how he approaches the offseason.