Yet another Celtics assistant is joining the NBA head-coaching ranks.

The Charlotte Hornets announced the hiring of Charles Lee as their next head coach Thursday.

Lee, Joe Mazzulla’s top assistant this season, will not join the Hornets until after Boston’s playoff run concludes. The Celtics owned a 1-0 lead over the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals heading into Thursday’s Game 2.

In his pregame news conference, Mazzulla called Lee’s hiring “long overdue,” and offered some blunt advice to his departing lieutenant.

“Everybody hates you (when you’re a head coach),” Mazzulla deadpanned. “Get used to it. You’re no longer the nice, shiny toy.”

The 39-year-old Lee previously worked under longtime head coach Mike Budenholzer in Milwaukee (2018-23) and Atlanta (2014-18) after getting his coaching start at his alma mater, Bucknell, in 2012.

The Bucks won the NBA title with Lee on staff in 2021, and he was promoted to associate head coach the following season. He joined the Celtics after Milwaukee fired Budenholzer last offseason.

“He’s worked for a really good coach for a long time on two different teams,” Mazzulla said. “He’s been a part of a team that’s won the most games in the NBA, had four All-Stars, won a championship, coached three really good players. … He just brings a different dynamic to the game, and I think one of the best things beside his basketball is the way he communicates. He’s a really positive guy.”

In a statement released by the Hornets, Lee called landing the Charlotte job “a dream come true.”

“The Hornets have a talented young core of players, and I’m excited about our future and what we can build here,” he said. “There are few places as passionate about basketball as the Carolinas, and I look forward to coming to Charlotte and getting to work.”

Five former Celtics assistants held NBA head-coaching jobs this season: Mazzulla, Will Hardy (Utah), Tom Thibodeau (New York Knicks), Tyronn Lue (Los Angeles Clippers) and Frank Vogel (Phoenix).

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Lee’s contract with Charlotte is a four-year deal, per ESPN. As for how the Celtics will replace him, Mazzulla said they plan to “hire from within as much we can.”

Sam Cassell, Tony Dobbins, Amile Jefferson, DJ MacLeay and Matthew Reynolds are Boston’s other assistants.

“All of our guys have done a great job,” Mazzulla said. “The first goal is retention, and then kind of go from there.”