Sources: Hornets finalize deal with Borrego as new coach
CHARLOTTE, N.C. » Michael Jordan has his guy. The Hornets owner has finalized a deal to hire San Antonio Spurs assistant coach James Borrego as Charlotte’s next head coach, according to people familiar with the situation.
A news conference is expected in the next few days.
The 40-year Borrego has spent 15 years an NBA assistant coach, 10 of those with San Antonio under Gregg Popovich. He has been a part of two NBA championship teams — in 2005 and 2007. He also was an assistant with the New Orleans Hornets, well before the team moved back to Charlotte.
This will be his first head coaching job.
However, he did serve as an interim coach with the Orlando Magic late in 2015-16 season after Jacque Vaughn was fired.
The Hornets are in the midst of change in the organization.
Jordan fired general manager Rich Cho midway through last season and hired Mitch Kupchak to replace him in April. Kupchak fried Steve Clifford as head coach a few days later.
Among the other NBA assistant coaches to interview for the position were Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga, Raptors assistant Nick Nurse, Spurs assistants Ettore Messina and Ime Udoka, and Blazers assistant David Vanterpol. Former Grizzlies coach David Fizdale also interviewed, but was later hired by the New York Knicks.
Borrego, Larranaga and Nurse were considered a major the three finalists for the job.
In Fizdale, Knicks get coach LeBron likes and players praise
NEW YORK » The more Knicks management asked about David Fizdale, the more they heard how much players respect him. It can’t hurt that one of them is LeBron James.
And while Knicks fans can dream of Fizdale’s relationship with James giving them a shot when the superstar enters free agency as expected, a team building from the bottom can’t focus on one player — even the best one in the game.
New York needed a coach that can bring out the best in everyone on the roster, and that’s what the Knicks believe they have in Fizdale.
The Knicks agreed to a deal with the former Memphis Grizzlies coach last week and introduced him Tuesday at a news conference at Madison Square Garden.
“I think the big thing that we found — and that’s obviously terrific that some of the game’s greats recognized David for who he is as a man and as a coach — but the players that are not that, just the guys 1 through 15, the reviews coming back on him were all very consistently similar,” general manager Scott Perry said.
“That he invested in us, that he’s going to develop you, he’s going to challenge you, he’s going to hold you accountable. And so I think that’s the important thing, that David has shown the ability to relate to a number of players across the board, not just the star players.”