Rocio Robles
Victories are a measure of success in sports, especially if the club you lead, as James Borrego‘s Charlotte Hornets did, was seeking to move a little further in the current NBA season.
Therefore, after being eliminated for the second consecutive season in the Play-In Tournament, the Charlotte organization decided this Friday to terminate Borrego’s contract after four seasons as the team’s coach.
“I want to thank JB for his hard work and commitment over the past four seasons. Beyond his work as a coach, he is a tremendous person. I wish him and his family the best for the future. These decisions are always difficult. That being said, we have a core of young, talented players that has me very excited about the future of the Hornets. We will begin the search for our new coach immediately.”
Hornets General Manager Mitch Kupchak on the firing of James Borrego
Despite finishing the regular season with a 43-39 record, which represents 10 more wins than last season, Borrego and the Hornets were overwhelmed at home by the Hawks, 10th in the Eastern Conference, who ended up defeating them by a score of 132-103.
This result put an end to Charlotte management’s patience with Borrego, who, despite improving the team’s record in each of his four seasons on the bench, was never able to make the playoffs despite having a roster full of youthful talent with the potential to go much further.
In fact, James Borrego was criticized on several occasions for allegedly not knowing how to exploit to the fullest the talents of such figures as LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges or Kelly Oubre Jr.: very young names who have proven they are capable of being stars on the boards, but have failed to achieve the consistency required of them as a team.
A clear example of this is that Ball was awarded Rookie of the Year last season and this year was called to the All-Star Game, while Bridges became a 20+ points per game scorer. Therefore, with performances like these, it was expected that the team could at least get a spot in the top eight of the conference.
James Borrego had signed a contract extension in August 2021 for several seasons (the exact number was never disclosed) and left his position with a lifetime record of 138-163. In addition, he will go down in history as the first coach of Latino heritage to coach an NBA team full-time.
With the coach’s departure, the Hornets join the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings as the three teams looking for a new head coach for the upcoming NBA season.
