NBA Rumors: James Borrego to Interview with Hornets; Linked to Knicks, Suns Jobs
San Antonio Spurs assistant coach James Borrego is reportedly interviewing with the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday for their head coaching vacancy.
Adrian Wojnarowski reported the update on Borrego, who has become one of the more popular names in the coaching carousel after prior interviews with the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns.
The 40-year-old New Mexico native is currently in his second stint on the Spurs' staff. He previously worked under longtime head coach Gregg Popovich from 2003 through 2010.
Borrego, who played college basketball at the University of San Diego and started his coaching career with the Toreros, has also made stops with the New Orleans Hornets and Orlando Magic.
His time with the Magic included a 30-game run as the team's interim coach following the departure of Jacque Vaughn during the 2014-15 campaign. Orlando went 10-20 in those contests.
In 2015, Borrego discussed how getting to work with San Antonio, one of the gold-standard franchises in sports, the first time around set him up for success.
"You're watching some of the greatest coaches, seeing what kind of sets they do," he told reporters. "How they use offense, how they use defense. So for me, I watched so much basketball my first two or three years, so it gave me a really great base to see what I liked as a coach, what worked, and really build a philosophy or a base."
The Hornets are searching for a new coach after firing Steve Clifford last month. CBS Sports noted Ettore Messina, Ime Udoka, David Fizdale, Jerry Stackhouse and David Vanterpool are among the other candidates linked to the job.
If hired, Borrego would inherit a roster led by Kemba Walker, Dwight Howard and Nicolas Batum that's looking to improve after a 36-46 record this season.
