It has been five years since James Borrego and the Charlotte Hornets parted ways. Since then, he has not held a head coaching position again. However, he could be back on the sidelines next season, as the Phoenix Suns are reportedly considering him to be Mike Budenholzer's successor.
According to NBA insiders (subscription required) Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, the Suns, who have been going through a major front office overhaul following a massively disappointing 2024-25 campaign, have named Borrego and Dave Joerger as the early frontrunners to be the organization's head coach. Stein emphasized that there will probably be over a dozen candidates. So, Borrego would have his work cut out for him if he is interested in joining Phoenix.
Seeing the legend Gregg Popovich's former protege get another shot at being a head coach would likely thrill some Hornets fans. After all, Borrego did a decent (not great, though) job in Charlotte, leading the franchise to three consecutive seasons of 10-win improvements before he got fired in the summer of 2022.
James Borrego's fit with Suns is suspect
The 47-year-old tactician's fit with the Suns appears to be questionable. First of all, it's still unclear who will be on the roster by the start of the 2025-26 regular season.
The word on the grapevine is that Kevin Durant could find a new home this summer, as his window to add another ring to his collection is fast closing. While the front office would probably want to get rid of Bradley Beal, it might have a difficult time doing so because of his no-trade clause. Devin Booker could end up being the sole survivor of the purging of the Big 3 that underachieved this year.
Whatever the roster ends up looking, Borrego is probably not the best solution for Phoenix — unless he has shown vast improvement in his ability to lead a team.
His tenure with the Hornets was marked by a possibly overinflated offense that relied on transition points and struggled to produce in half-court sets. Defense is where Borrego got a lot of flak during his time in Charlotte, as the team was pretty inconsistent in stopping opponents from scoring during that four-year stretch. It's also worth noting that there were reports that he had lost control of the locker room over time.
With the Suns looking to contend for a championship, which would likely require an above-average defense and the players' buy-in, the current New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach might not be the ideal guy to be at the helm.
Of course, Borrego, if he does get the job, has the smarts and experience to succeed in Phoenix. But if the potential partnership goes badly, Hornets fans wouldn't be surprised.