James Borrego Comments on Job Security

Will the Hornets move on from JB? Right now, it's too early to tell.

Charlotte's trip to the NBA play-in tournament was almost an exact replica of what transpired a year ago when they were blown out by the Indiana Pacers. For motivation purposes, the team put a picture of the box score from that game up above a doorway in the locker room this season. Well, now, that picture will have some company following the Hornets' 132-103 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night. 

When it comes to making progress, the Hornets did so by winning 43 games and getting back to postseason play. 43 wins is also the most ever for a team to finish at 10th place in the Eastern Conference. The East was extremely competitive this year, but the Hornets let several opportunities slip through the cracks of their fingers. They lost "gimme games" to Houston, Orlando, and Detroit, and also blew a game at Indiana in the final seconds due to not being able to inbound the ball without turning it over. Those four games were the difference from being a 10 seed and a six seed to where they would have avoided the play-in tournament completely. 

When it comes to the job security of head coach James Borrego, I don't think he has much to worry about. He led the team to its best record since the 2015-16 season, took the team to the postseason in back-to-back years, and has an elite young duo in LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges to build this thing around. However, losing in the fashion that they did in the most important game in consecutive seasons is not a good look. How does the team not have better intensity or more sense of urgency in a win or go home scenario? That's a tough one to figure out.

Following Wednesday's loss, Borrego was asked about his job security. After a long pause, he finally responded by saying, "Most times 43 wins in the Eastern Conference gets you a six, seven, eight seed. Unfortunately, it hit us with a ten seed. I'm proud of the way we dug in all year, we got better throughout the year. The step we took from last year to this year, now the goal is to use this summer to get better. Obviously, this game can motivate us and fuel us just like last season did.

"I haven't even thought about that. We just lost a game in the playoffs, so I'll go back and do my job and we've got to get better. We've gotten better every single year, I don't worry about that. It does not phase me. I love this team. I trust this team and we'll take a step forward next year. I believe in the guys in that locker room and we'll come back a stronger team."

The Hornets organization already has a lot of decisions to make this offseason such as the contracts with Miles Bridges and P.J. Washington, finding an interior presence, and a defensive-minded backup guard among other things. We're only 12 hours or so into the offseason so it's extremely early to tell how secure Borrego's job is but I think we'll have a pretty good idea soon. The only benefit of getting knocked out early is the ability to get a head start on formulating/finalizing a plan for free agency, the draft, and so on. 

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