Ex-Spurs assistant will coach Hornets
Michael Jordan has his guy. The Hornets owner has finalized a deal to hire Spurs assistant coach James Borrego as Charlotte’s next head coach, people familiar with the situation said Tuesday.
A news conference is expected in the next few days.
Borrego, 40, has spent 15 years as an NBA assistant coach — including 10 with San Antonio under Gregg Popovich. Borrego 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 relocated to Charlotte.
This will be his first head coaching job. However, he did serve as an interim coach with the Magic late in the 2015-16 season after Jacque Vaughn was fired.
The Hornets are in the midst of a major change in the organization. Jordan fired general manager Rich Cho midway
through last season and hired Mitch Kupchak to replace him in April. Kupchak fired Steve Clifford as head coach a few days later.
Minnesota assistant resigns: Timberwolves assistant coach Rick Brunson resigned amid reports that women had accused him of improper conduct.
The team announced Brunson’s resignation in a onesentence statement, but it did not provide a reason for his departure. The Minneapolis Star Tribune, citing a source it did not identify, reported that Brunson had been the subject of complaints of improper conduct toward women. The Athletic also reported he was the subject of improper conduct allegations.
In 2014 Brunson was arrested in Chicago and charged with sexually assaulting a massage therapist. He was acquitted of all counts in that case.
Welcome: The Knicks introduced David Fizdale as their coach. Fizdale, one of 11 candidates who interviewed for the job, was an assistant with the Warriors, Hawks and Heat before posting a 50-51 record with the Grizzlies. Memphis fired Fizdale 19 games into the 2017-18 season.
Fizdale is the 11th Knicks coach since Jeff Van Gundy resigned in the 2001-02 season. Fizdale said he couldn’t pass up the chance to coach at Madison Square Garden, even though he was a candidate for jobs where there is more stability. “The risk/reward thing was, I just said to hell with it,” Fizdale said. “It’s the Knicks, what are we talking about here?”
Cavs won’t discipline Hood: A person familiar with the situations says the Cavaliers will not discipline forward Rodney Hood for refusing to play in Game 4 of the justcompleted Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Raptors.
The Athletic first reported that Hood declined to enter the game in the fourth quarter with Cleveland leading Toronto by 30 points. The AP source said Hood spoke to team officials and said he regretted the incident. He has struggled in his first postseason with the Cavs.