11:56am: The Hornets officially announced in a press release that they’ve relieved Borrego of his duties as head coach.
“I want to thank JB for his hard work and commitment during these past four seasons,” president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak said in a statement. “Beyond his work as a coach, he is a tremendous person. I wish him and his family the best in the future. These decisions are always difficult. Having said that, we have a talented, young core of players which has me very excited about the future of the Hornets. We will begin the search for our new head coach immediately.”
10:46am: The Hornets are dismissing head coach James Borrego, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Borrego is just one year removed from signing a contract extension with Charlotte. After having his option for 2021/22 picked up, Borrego agreed to a new deal that reportedly tacked on at least two years to his previous contract. However, it appears the Hornets are letting him go before that contract even takes effect.
A former Spurs assistant, Borrego was hired to replace Steve Clifford in 2018. He led the team to a 39-43 record in his first year, then posted a 23-42 mark in year two after losing Kemba Walker in free agency.
In the last two years, however, the Hornets had been taking positive steps forward, led by young cornerstones LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, in addition to veteran additions like Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier.
Charlotte went 33-39 in 2020/21 and 43-39 this season, despite missing Hayward due to injuries for a significant portion of this year. In both 2021 and 2022, the team made the play-in tournament, but was blown out in its first game and eliminated from playoff contention.
As Wojnarowski observes (via Twitter), the decision to move on from Borrego is somewhat surprising, but it seems that Hornets leadership decided that the team’s poor play-in showings and lack of playoff berths negated the positive development shown by Ball, Bridges, and – prior to his 2021 departure – Devonte’ Graham.
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report wrote earlier this month that there had been some speculation about the possibility of the Hornets replacing Borrego if the team didn’t make the playoffs, but Fischer said at the time there was a “heavier dose of optimism” that the head coach would stick around. One rival assistant GM told Bleacher Report “it would make no sense” to fire him, given the progress he had made with the team’s young core.
The Hornets will be the third team this offseason to launch a search for a new head coach, joining the Lakers and Kings.
Some teams just don’t know what to do with themselves.
Yeah, this is some Kings type of behavior right here
Please hire a van gundy or brett brown
That’s disappointing!
MJ, maybe get some better players around LaMelo…don’t blame the coach
Hornets had plenty of talent to make the playoffs the coach just isn’t good.
Talent that can’t stay healthy . Hayward makes way to much to barely play and they have no big depth . They have a bench player starting at center
I just don’t get this move. They finally look like they have their head out of their rear end with getting a superstar in Lamelo and an emerging 2 way player in Bridges, and you make this move? I think MJ has Vogel on his mind to address the team’s defense. They need more of a defensive mentality. Maybe they are all in for Gobert? Send out Heyward and a future protected 1st for Gobert? I think bringing in Vogel will give them credibility for defense. But knowing MJ, he’ll probably bring in Alvin Gentry for some ungodly reason.
I think that would be multiple unprotected 1sts with Hayward
Possibly maybe just one unprotected and then a lottery protected for the other? It’s not like Rudy Gobert is highly sought after within the last few years?
But no one wants Hayward’s contract or the fact he misses chunks of every season.
Lamelo is good, but he still has a lot of work to do before he becomes close to a “Superstar”!
I think he’s a superstar, ESPN/TNT have lately been showing the Hornets on a national stage. You just don’t see teams without a superstar/star players. He’s a special talent and the league notices it. Obviously, his dad and brothers get majority of the attention but I feel like he just loves the game more than any of them and a desire to get better each game. He has that “IT” factor to me.
Those TV schedules were based off pre season expectations to try and have good matchups.
Lamelo still doesnt have much besides his floater inside and really needs to develop more as a finisher around the basket for superstar status. Most superstars can just get you a bucket when you need it. Also his defense is trerible like really really poopy. So after he adds size and defensive skill, and can finish through traffic and contact more, then he may be a super star, if all his current game holds up too…
“Superstar”is as much about charisma, persona and media narrative as it is about talent and production. Melo has all the above in spades.
No a superstar is a top 10 NBA player that is a major building block to a championship contending team.
LeBron, Giannis, Luca, Curry, Dray, Joker, KD, Tatum, Booker, Embiid, AD when healthy, Lavine, KI, Klay, Dame, Ingram, Zion when healthy, Ja is ahead of him, Jimmy Butts, Kawhi, PG, ANT, and even a one way guy like Trae. Thats just off the top of my head, and Im missing a bunch Im sure, as a whole list of players more valuable than Lamelo, and being the 45th best player in the NBA makes you Andrew Wiggins not a superstar. Lamelo is a good young player on a good rookie contract right now but needs to do a lot to get close to sniffing superstar.
Hell right now Im taking Jordan Poole over Lamelo…
His defense is awful? He averaged 1.6 SPG this year. According to Statmuse, Lamelo JUST missed out on being top 20 rated defender in the league. He only has a floater? He had 38% from 3’s this year on 7.5 Attempts. I don’t think you saw a SINGLE game of Lamelo Ball this entire year, and if you did you are just trolling. You would take Jordan Poole over LaMelo??? Based on ONE year where Poole was the best 6th man and took 4 years to develop? Newsflash: Poole wasn’t even voted to the ASG in this year that he was really good. You have Edwards already over LaMelo, but they were apart of the SAME draft class 2 years ago. So ROY last year isn’t good enough? Being voted to the ASG isn’t good enough? 87% FT shooting isn’t good enough? “45th best player in the NBA” my god the ignorance or stupidity is real on this app. Pretty sure his career trajectory is LIGHT years ahead of Wiggins. Wiggins JUST made the ASG after being in the league after 9 years….what a casual fan, or you might be a rookie NBA fan who has never saw basketball prior to this year.
I didnt mention the 3s I talked about finishing at the basket. Finding his 3 point shot is part of why, in addition to his passing, he is as good as he is.
Poole is an insane worker and has transformed himself from draft bust into Steph lite clone inside of 2 years while still being years away from his prime. I will trust in the dude who is performing in the playoffs already, and shows the work ethic that will make for continued growth.
Gambling for steals doesnt equal a good defender who can switch up the spectrum and still survive. Part of why Steph is better than other offensively equivalent PGs is that he is a very good team defender who is strong enough to survive on bigger players when he has to.
Charlotte had insanely bad team defense in which Lamelo was playing a ton of minutes dude. He needs to add strength so he can finish better and hold up against bigger players. You want to be a 2-way superstar like prime Kawhi you need to be stronger than Lamelo with an automatic 2 from some spot along with a good 3.
Lamelo is a really good young player, but he isnt a top 20 player yet. He could be in the future. I dont think ANT is that far ahead of him, but his ability to just go downhill and get a bucket is rare in the NBA, and he is strong and large enough to really be a good defender eventually. I will take Kuminga over Ball for long term upside as well since being able to just get a bucket no matter what they do like Giannis is huuuugggeee in the playoffs. Lamelo isnt even the best player on his own team yet, hello Miles, so he is categorically not a superstar, yet…
Why bring Kawhi into it?
Feels like your reaching a bit there .. They are nowhere near the same players,,,it be like comparing Kidd andKobe 15 years ago
How much LaMelo have you honestly watched if I may ask?
Plenty the Hornets are a fun watch since the offense is banging even if the defense is atrocious. During a Hornets game everyone scores on both teams and buckets are fun.
Kawhi is the ultimate 2 way player. Dude isnt top of the league, but good from 3. Is one of the best switchable perimeter defenders. Can get a bucket at any point in the midrange.
If Lamelo hits the gym hard to bulk up a bit and improves his on ball defense he could turn into a 2 – way threat. He has the height to defend well if he is strong enough, and strength would go a long way with quick twitch explosiveness that gets you good at finishing in traffic.
I don’t get why you are trying to compare Leonard and Ball still
Guards don’t hit the gym hard to bulk up. You don’t want a bunch of muscle shooting the ball (its restrictive) and prone to tears and doesn’t add much of an advantage anyways. Oftern times the extra weight just creates more unnecessary stress on the knees and ankles
Every time a skinny player enters the league its easy to jus say bulk up – Durant never needed to bulk up.
He also guards a lot better than you are giving credit for, a lot of metrics have him as a small + while many say avg…Have No clue what metrics your using but Im assuming its just your own heart and eyes leading the way He contributes a bunch on the glass as well
Gambling for steals? Newsflash, everyone gambles for steals in the NBA, you have to play in the passing lane and have your hands active all the time. Lamelo’s body is still building strength to tolerate bigger guys. He’s already has the size to guard 1-4 if need be. You act like Poole is the 2nd coming of Steph. Are you a Warriors fan? Poole is weak on defense, I’ve seen OTHER Warriors fans on this app who have admitted he is not a strong defender. And you might be the first and only person who says Steph is a good team defender. If you need to use team defender to prove your point, then he’s not a good defender. Taj Gibson wasn’t as good of a defender as ppl thought he was, he was just a very good weak side defender, see what I did there? Kuminga? Has he even played in the playoffs yet? He has a good ceiling but comparing to a guy who already made the ASG in his 2nd year, won ROY, and was the driving force for his team on offense, there’s no contest on who is more impactful this early on in his career. There’s a reason why LaMelo is called FACE of the FRANCHISE. Miles Bridges is a terrific 2 way player but it took him having LaMelo only for him to blossom into what he is now. Superstars make their teammates better and without LaMelo giving him those easy shots, or finding him or even drawing attention on offense, I doubt Miles would have the season he was having.
Young players lunge for balls a lot getting steals, but also racking up fouls, and causing 4 on 5 situations when they gamble and lose. Getting natural steals in the passing lane and clean poke aways while tightly defending a player without overcommitting is a harder skill.
I dont trust Lamelo, key defender on the leagues 25th worst defense, guarding any position but 1-2. If Im an opposing wing scorer I am hunting switches onto Ball.
Steph is a good defender, one of the very best at PG, look at all the metrics where he is positive. He was not always a plus defender, but he fouls less and is stronger than he used to be. Until Dray got hurt the team was wildly better than number 2 in defense rating and every team defense metric. For a 1 he is worlds better than your Trae/Lillard/CP/Ja/CJ or any other elite scoring undersize guards. He has always been a good team defender through all the finals runs…
Kuminga has played in more playoff games this season than Lamelo! ;) I will also take his greater size and much more explosive ability to attack the rim 5 years from now than Lamelos upside…
You see how little I give a f*** about ROY ASG as a sign of status! He was a replacement get over it call me when he starts a few FFS Andrew Wiggins is an all star starter.
Miles Bridges is a more valuable player right now in terms of production, and has that rare elite athleticism like Kuminga that unlocks a part of the game very few can access. Melo is a fancy passing guard with a weird shot that somehow works, so far. Put MB on any team with a good passer he does the same.
Face of franchise means nothing. Who is the face of the Kings? Oh wait who cares that means zero!
Cripes, semantics.
LaMelo
Rozier/Bouknight
Derrick Jones Jr (free agency)/McDaniels
PJ Washington/Oubre/Kai Jones
Gobert/Plumlee
Target Mark Williams or Nikola Jovic with the 15th pick?
Did they really think with the players they have its a top 4 team in the east? A build of a future top team takes time not a over night success. Team has a couple of good players and the rest are only back up players.
They had a good team to make the playoffs.
Agreed. They improved greatly under Borrego, they just don’t have the talent or experience level yet to get much farther in.
Wow he is a good coach. This franchise just really doesn’t get it. They are the Los Angeles Angels of the NBA
Didn’t the Angels keep Mike Scioscia on as manager for 47 years? I’m not understanding the connection when you start your statement with “he is a good coach” and the point of the article is they fired the coach?
Gary, if anything Charlotte Hornets are like the Brewers prior to 2018, just a terribly run organization and it definitely starts with Jordan. I’m not sure who they think they will get but my money is on Vogel right now if I calling Vegas.
The Angels have missed the playoffs every year but one while fielding a team with Mike Trout being the best player on the planet, through most of that time he was underpaid as well. Poor ownership choices over his GMs head on big FA signings have doomed that team to endless playoffs misses with a 10 WAR player.
Its not about the coach its about the self sabotage tanking your team over and over.
Yeah, the Angels problem is that they’re not balancing out their team well. Taking Upton’s contract for offense, signing Rendon for offense when perhaps they should look at starting pitchers, etc has been their issue in the past. Teams need a good balance and smart contract signings. I think the Hornets struggle because they’re not a destination at the top of everyone’s list – hence Hayward and not a Durant, Irving, etc.
It goes back so much further than that…
The trade for Vernon Wells was insane.
Pujols was a bad deal that could have gone better at the time of signing it.
CJs deal to steal him from TEX.
Hamiltons deal to steal him from TEX.
Never spending for top pitching and constantly trying to buy mid tier guys on 1-3 year deals.
All done buy Moreno over his GMs objections who he then fires for not producing a winner when saddled with all his mistakes.
Losing first round picks year after year so they could sign all those bad FA deals causing the farm to go through a period of like 6 years at the bottom of the league so they never produce any cheap homegrown talent.
Weeeeell, to be fair, the worst run organization in the NBA is either the Kings or the Knicks.
Although the Knicks made the playoffs in 2020-2021, that appearance seems like an aberration considering their showing this year. At least Thibs finally relented and let Quickley and Toppin show what they can do… in the final couple of games.
It is so obviously the Kings.
Knicks last playoffs 2021
Kings last playoffs 2004
I mean its not even close. I like the Knicks chances better over the next 5 years also.
I mean trading Haliburton to chase a play in spot you end up missing anyways, giving up 7 more years of team control for 2 before UFA was actually insane in how self defeating it was. Making it all the worse why on earth would Sabonis resign when he hits FA the year the cap jumps when lots of teams will have room?
No he isn’t if he was a good coach he would have made the playoffs and not get blown out in the play in twice he is an average coach at best doesn’t really make much adjustments he didn’t use Lamelo right. It was time for the Hornets and James both to move on. Same with Vogel average at best.
Hire Frank Vogel.
This accomplished two things:
You get a winning head coach with a young roster.
It also ensures they don’t trade for Westbrook
Borrego is solid. But, if you already have something worked out with a now available Vogel…
bye Borrego.
Hornets – Frank Vogel
Kings – Darvin Ham
Lakers – LeBron James
The LBJ hate is silly. He’s so corporate it’s easy to make fun of him. And he speaks without really thinking sometimes (China).
But a lot of the criticism is from Sports Talk Show hosts who make a living being parasites because they know the listeners like to have superstars taken down a peg or two.
Someone explain this firing to me. Other than Bouknight, I hadn’t heard any player speak against or have an issue with Borrego. Clearly progress was being made. Vogel is that much better at this point for the franchise?? IDK
MJ made this decision. It doesn’t need logic, just like the desire for Westbrook.
I think Bouknight was the only guy who had an issue with Borrego? Wasn’t he out of the rotation during mid-season, due to his poor attitude? That’s the only player I can remember who had an issue with him.
@stevep-4 you think MJ will speak upon it or do a Leon Rose and remain silent?
@raz427 yea Bouknight mos def had issues with Borrego. Over playing time I think? Which I think Bouknight has now walked back a little?…
As a Knicks fan, everyone knows we have issues with Thibs at this point. So seeing a good coach who was showing successful signs of player development & team improvements, I can’t help but think this was premature/over reactionary.
Borrego can be credited for somewhat holding back two un-ready rookies from taking spots from vets. He is a Popovich guy. To say Bouknight did not learn anything is silly, and viewers got a competitive team.
The flare-up happened after the Heat were destroying them for a while, something like 35 to 4, and Bouknight came in a very short time. He’s probably like, this is my time. Tense.
More like Borrego find another job.
Coaches fault for getting I can’t stay healthy Hayward?? Or not improving the big man depth ??
Horrible firing and the Hornets are once again trying to be like the Kings!
I mean you have a solid coach that will land his next job quickly while the Hornets roster will most likely still be weak to compete with the bigger teams like the Celtics, Bucks or even the Bulls…
About time, I would have fired him like 3 years ago, he wasn’t playing LaMelo right, & all is about LaMelo the rest of guys don’t matter, he was a very mediocre HC!
Good riddance!
El Don, Youcanbookit, I felt a “pang of guilt” with this news, like we got Borrego fired with our put-downs after a Hornets article yesterday! Silly me.
I would have hung onto him another year since a firing does not look good and I thought it tough on a coach to draft who they drafted. What did Kupchak want, a showcase of kidlike talent?— at the expense of a winning effort?
CHA execs are not going to blame Bouknight but they should speak on shifting blame away from him. I see divisions to be managed. Unless everyone hated him secrectly.
Latest news from the Hornets:
-We want to trade for Russell Westbrook
-Sack our coach who was helping improve this young team
This is definitely some Sacramento kings type moves here.
No idea if he was a good coach or not—-not sure why everyone is assuming he was—but good luck to whoever gets the job now and has to deal with some of those personalities on the team. Because it won’t be easy.
Whether you liked or hated Borrego, it’s clear some of the players stopped listening to him awhile ago. Not a great look for a young team full of players who have accomplished nothing.
If, somehow, the Hornets avoided Westbrook, got Gobert (traded Hayward), and brought in Vogel to coach this team would get a hell of a lot more interesting. Borrego seemed and sounded like a coach about to be fired after the play-in loss (which was strange tbh).