Hornets to interview Spurs assistant Ime Udoka for head coaching vacancy

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hornets have an interview with Ime Udoka lined up for sometime this week.

Also from Wojnarowski:

Udoka has been a part of coach Gregg Popovich’s staff for six years, after a seven-year playing career in the NBA. Udoka, 40, is considered one of the league’s most promising young head coaching candidates.

Udoka’s professional career started in the NBDL when he was drafted by the Charleston Lowgators. He was eventually called up by the Los Angeles Lakers but was waived shortly after. After a brief stint in Europe he was re-drafted into the NBDL by the Fort Worth Flyers, with whom he won the Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award.

He spent time in the NBA with the aforementioned Lakers, Knicks, Trail Blazers, Spurs, Kings, and Spurs again. He joined Gregg Popovich’s staff in San Antonio after spending one season playing professionally in Spain.

Udoka is the second interviewee the Hornets are bringing in from the Spurs coaching staff. He joins his Spurs colleague Ettore Messina as well as Jerry Stackhouse and David Fizdale on the list of interviews being conducted by the Hornets this week. New General Manager Mitch Kupchak is showing a profound interest in coaching candidates with ties to success in the league, even if they don’t have an abundance of coaching experience themselves. Likewise, the Hornets don’t appear to have any interest in pursuing retread head coaches with a lot of name recognition.