The Charlotte Hornets have the right coaching staff in place during transition period
With a rebuild underway, the Charlotte Hornets can feel comfortable knowing their coaching staff has bought into the situation.
When you’re transitioning from a competitive team to a rebuilding team, having the right coaching staff is an important piece to the puzzle. Luckily for the Charlotte Hornets, they have a staff in place that has embraced this new era in Charlotte, and a staff that can get the best out of the young players on the team.
James Borrego was hired as Head Coach over a year ago, and while his first season was a bit bumpy at times, he has acknowledged the mistakes he made and has bought into what lies ahead for the Hornets.
He and the Charlotte Hornets finished with a 39-43 record last season. Borrego had them playing a fun style offensive, featuring a lot of ball movement and player movement, a little bit similar to the Spurs offense, which is where Borrego was coaching prior to joining Charlotte.
Yeah, the Hornets missed the playoffs for the third straight season, but Borrego had his good moments and proved that he deserves to be a Head Coach in this league.
Borrego isn’t the only positive, though. The Hornets have some great assistants with guys such as Jay Triano, Ronald Nored and Jay Hernandez on the sideline.
Triano is a veteran that has been around for a while with Head Coaching stops in Toronto and Phoenix, while Nored and Hernandez are both up-and-coming assistants that have been so focused on player development.
You may remember back in March when Nored was one of the leading candidates for the Head Coach position at Vanderbilt University. He’s also a former player, having suited up for the Butler Bulldogs from 2008 to 2012.
Getting back to Borrego, he has shown a commitment to playing his young players more often during the 2019-20 season. Considering this is going to be the first step in a major rebuild, this is music to Hornets fans ears.
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Dwayne Bacon, Miles Bridges and Terry Rozier figure to log major minutes for Charlotte this season, with other young players like Devonte’ Graham, Malik Monk and PJ Washington all vying for playing time. The opportunity will be there for all of these players.
Playing these young players and getting them all the experience they can get is going to be important during the season. The Hornets aren’t going to improve via free agency; they just aren’t big enough of a market. They must start their climb from the bottom with a major focus on player development in the process.
During his media luncheon on Tuesday, Borrego revealed some other tidbits regarding the 2019-20 season. He’ll be welcoming a new coach to the equation, a coach that will bounce around between Charlotte with the Hornets and Greensboro with the Swarm.
Borrego also has a strong desire to improve the teams defense during the season. They ranked 23rd in defensive rating last season, so there is a lot of room for improvement. You can read more on these two tidbits on The Athletic (subscription required) via Rod Boone.
It looks like Borrego wants to go young, play fast and improve defensively. Some tough years may be ahead, but I hope the organization sticks with Borrego and his staff for the long haul. Stability is important when building a team.
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Borrego and his staff are on the same page with General Manager Mitch Kupchak, which is a good sign. The 2019-20 season will be a season of growth for not only the players, but the coaches as well. It’s time for the Charlotte Hornets organization to start over and grow together during this rebuild.