Mitch Kupchak, President of Basketball Operations and General Manager of the Charlotte Hornets, announced yesterday that Head Coach James Borrego has been relieved of his coaching duties.
“I want to thank JB for his hard work and commitment during these past four seasons,” said Kupchak. “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.”
Via the Charlotte Observer:
Borrego, who compiled a 138-163 mark in his tenure, is out as the Hornets’ coach just over a week after their season came to a halt with a 132-103 loss to Atlanta in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. General manager Mitch Kupchak informed Borrego on Friday the team was moving in a different direction and relieving him of his duties.
In pulling the rug out from under Borrego, the Hornets made a decision that caught more than a few people off guard. While ultimately owner Michael Jordan had to sign off on the move, a source told The Observer he wasn’t the man who delivered the edict to sever ties with Borrego, who had two years remaining on his contract after signing an extension in August.
Kupchak has been the architect of the Hornets’ blueprint and that wasn’t suddenly altered this week. He made the choice to let Borrego go, figuring it was a necessity to propel the Hornets’ young core led by LaMelo Ball forward. There were a variety of factors that pushed Kupchak in that direction, things that were hard to ignore when he began the full evaluation process.
On May 10, 2018, Borrego was named the Hornets’ 11th head coach in team history. Borrego had a stellar four-year career with Charlotte.
