Hornets fire Borrego with two years left on contract

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Hornets have fired head coach James Borrego, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

The Hornets later publicly confirmed the news.

Borrego was 138-163 in four seasons with the Hornets and led them to the NBA’s play-in tournament the past two years as the No. 10 seed. They were blown out in both play-in games, however, and never made the playoffs in Borrego’s four seasons.

The team has not already filled the position and will conduct a search for a new coach, a source said.

“I want to thank JB for his hard work and commitment during these past four seasons,” Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak said. “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’s firing was a bit of a surprise. Borrego, 44, signed a multi-year contract extension with the Hornets last offseason and the team finished this past season 4339, which was Charlotte’s first winning record since 2016.

Borrego had two years remaining on his contract from the multi-year extension he signed. He will be paid the remaining two years.

During the team’s final press conference last week, Borrego sounded like a coach who knew he was on the hot seat. Though he said there were areas they needed to be better in, he pointed to the strides his team had made over the past three years.

“You don’t win 10-plus games each year without growing and facing certain areas,” Borrego said. “That doesn’t just happen overnight. We’re one of three franchises over the last three years to go plus 10, plus 10. The other two teams are the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors.