James Borrego Named Magic Head Coach Through End of Season

Nearly two weeks after taking over as interim head coach of the Orlando Magic, James Borrego has been given the rest of this season to prove himself. 

According to the Magic's official Twitter feed, the team has decided to give Borrego the head coaching job for the rest of the season:

It's not hard to see why the Magic want to go with Borrego. He was only in charge for four games before the All-Star break began, yet John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com noted that there's already been a difference in how the team is playing:

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel provided additional details about the Magic's coaching staff, which includes Igor Kokoskov as lead assistant coach:

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Kokoskov has worked previously as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kokoskov will be in his 15th season in the NBA; when he was hired by the Clippers in 2000, he became the first full-time, non-American assistant coach in NBA history.

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Robbins' report also states the Magic plan to "ramp up a thorough, methodical search" for their permanent head coach after the season is over though speculation about who that will be has already started. 

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported the day Jacque Vaughn was fired that Scott Skiles was high on Orlando's list of coaching candidates:

Whatever direction Orlando eventually decides to go, the next head coach will have a lot of youthful talent to work with. The Magic started the 2014-15 season tied for the fourth-youngest roster in the league, per NBA.com. 

The Magic have a solid nucleus of young players to build around, with Victor Oladipo, Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton and another lottery pick coming this year. The key will be finding someone who can develop these players and turn the franchise into a consistent title contender.  

Borrego will get the first crack to show what he can do in a lost season. The early results have been promising though there are still two months left to play.