It could take decades to turn the Charlotte Bobcats into a contender. Mike Dunlap got one year.
The team announced on Tuesday that they have fired Dunlap after one season as head coach, having led the Bobcats to a 21-61 record, which included an 18-game losing streak.
“Rich Cho and I conducted our season-ending review and met with coach Dunlap to reflect on this season. As an organization, it was decided that we needed to make a change with the head coach position,” president of basketball operations Rod Higgins said in a release. “We want to thank Mike for his contribution and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Dunlap, who previously served as an assistant coach at St. John’s, guided the team to a 7-5 record to open the season before the underdeveloped and underachieving roster produced another dreadful season. The 55-year-old actually helped improve the team to a .256 winning percentage, following an NBA-record worst .106 winning percentage in the previous strike-shortened season.
Owner Michael Jordan’s next coach will be the team’s sixth in the past 10 years.