Charlotte Hornets cut ties with head coach James Borrego
On Friday morning, the James Borrego era in Charlotte came to a close. Hornets President of Basketball Operations & General Manager Mitch Kupchak announced the team has relieved Head Coach Borrego of his coaching duties. The move came, apparently, after the Hornets lost each of their last two play-in games by large margins. This year the Hornets fell to the Atlanta Hawks 132-103. Last year's loss came at the hands of the Indiana Pacers.
This year's shortcoming makes the six straight season the Hornets have missed the playoffs.
“I want to thank JB for his hard work and commitment during these past four seasons,” said Kupchak. “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.”
Borrego, the 11th head coach in Hornets franchise history, posted a 138-163 (.458) record in four seasons with team. Despite Borrego's overall record being under .500, several players, including LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and former Hornets' guard Devonte Graham blossomed under Borrego's system. Since his first year with the team, which managed to gain wins with little rim protecting ability as well as other shortfalls due to missteps by the front office led by Kupchak, Borrego mastered the art of "Small Ball" to provide fans with many dramatic endings.
Borrego's rosters improved the team's win total by ten wins each season over the last three years.
