James Borrego will almost certainly be a head coach somewhere in the NBA again. Chances are, it'll be as soon as next season.
But will that job be in New Orleans?
Or will he land a gig at one of the other openings that will pop up once the season ends?
The answer to that, which is up to Pelicans’ executive vice-president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, remains to be seen.
What we do know though is Borrego has made a strong case for himself in his audition since taking over after Willie Green was fired 12 games into the season.
Borrego’s 23-36 record in his interim role probably won't wow you.
But what he’s done lately with a healthy roster should.
The Pelicans are 10-5 since the All-Star break and have won seven straight home games heading into Saturday’s game in the Smoothie King Center against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The numbers are even better when you throw in games that defensive stalwart Herb Jones has played. Since Jones returned from a right ankle sprain in late January, the Pels are 18-10 with him in the lineup. That's a 53% winning percentage. Winning at that rate over an entire season would've got the Pels to 52 wins, which would be the second most in franchise history.
The Pels’ current offensive rating (115.5) ranks ninth in the league and their defensive rating (112.4) ranks 13th. The 3.1 net rating also ranks ninth, making the Pels a top 10 team in the league since Borrego took over and with Jones in the lineup. Jones credits Borrego for that success.
“With the coaching change, he just came in and tried to turn it around,” Jones said. “We were in a bad spot. He just changed it with his energy and encouraged guys to show up every day with energy and be themselves and continue to cheer the guy next to you and not worry about self accomplishments.”
Outside of all the metrics, it’s been the buy-in from the players that has stood out the most. Borrego made several bold decisions that could have caused friction in the locker room. None of the moves did.
As soon as Borrego took over, he inserted rookie Derik Queen into the starting lineup. Another change he implemented for seven games was bringing Zion Williamson off the bench. Convincing the face of the franchise to come off the bench doesn’t always go over well, but Borrego made it work and Williamson embraced it. Borrego also benched Jordan Poole, the second highest paid player on the roster and has limited his role. Queen and fellow rookie Jeremiah Fears also now come off the bench, yet he has given them enough quality minutes to help them continue to develop.
He's had success managing rookies before. When he was the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, LaMelo Ball won Rookie of the Year. Excluding the COVID- shortened season, the Hornets increased their win total each season under Borrego and finished 43-39 record in his fourth and final season. Charlotte averaged just 22 wins per year in the three seasons immediately following his departure.
This season as an interim coach, he's had to teach his principles and try to develop team chemistry without having a training camp. His players understand how daunting that task can be.
“It’s tough, especially picking up the job early on in the season when you don’t really have a summer to prepare what you really want to do,” said forward Trey Murphy.” So you’re just going on the fly to an extent. Just trying to motivate guys and trying to get guys to play the way you want them to play is tough. I definitely want to commend him for that.”
The Pelicans are 10-5 over the last 15 games, with eight of those 10 wins by double digits. Since the trade deadline in early February, the Pelicans boast victories over postseason bound teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Clippers twice.
Dumars hasn’t spoken to the media since November when he made the coaching change. So we don’t know where he is in the process of finding the team’s next head coach. In an interview with The Times-Picayune last May shortly after replacing David Griffin as the team’s chief decision maker, Dumars had this to say about his expectations for the franchise.
"The style of play — resilience, toughness, playing hard, never quit — that’s what we want people to see right away," Dumars said.
The Pelicans under Borrego have checked all those boxes. While many teams at the bottom of the standings are tanking for draft picks, the Pelicans don’t have any draft picks to tank for. So they are still competing, which is why they have climbed to 11th in the Western Conference standings heading into Saturday's game. The Pelicans rallied from an 18-point deficit in Wednesday's win over the Clippers and ended up winning by 13.
“We’re sprinting to the finish line,” Borrego said. “The goal here is to build momentum. I’m really proud of the group that they have bought in to that. They are not giving in to the season. They are not giving in within the game. To me, that’s resiliency.”
The Pelicans (25-46) have eclipsed their win total from last season when they won just 21 games. Injuries plagued Green’s team last season and have played a part in this season’s disappointment. Especially the absence of Dejounte Murray, who missed the first 58 games recovering from the Achilles injury suffered last January. The Pels are 5-4 since Murray’s return. Murray's steady play and leadership would have likely navigated the Pels through their lulls this season. But Borrego doesn’t get caught up in the hypotheticals of what this season could have been if the team was healthy.
“I can’t go there,” Borrego said. “What I can look forward to is what’s ahead. Stay in the moment. I try not to look back at ‘what if?’ We can’t do anything about the past. All we control is what’s in front of us now. I see a group playing together and playing for one another. I’m just enjoying this time with them. I see the future here. I see ahead to what this group can be with this vision coming to light.”
He'd like nothing more than for the Pelicans’ future to include him.
Dumars and Troy Weaver will ultimately make that decision. Names like Darvin Ham (who coached the Los Angeles Lakers two seasons from 2022-2024) and former UCONN coach Kevin Ollie are ones that have floated around as possibilities Dumars and Weaver could be considering for the job. Here's hoping Dumars does a thorough coaching search. That search should include Borrego. If the Pelicans don’t hire him, someone else likely will in this next coaching cycle. Borrego was one of the final candidates for jobs with the Cavs, the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers the past two years. His results this season with a healthy roster will have more teams calling. His players know it.
“I’m excited to go play hard for him because everybody is being evaluated,” Murray said when he returned from his injury. “He’s being evaluated for this so we want to go through a brick wall for him to put him in a great position for here or elsewhere. Hopefully it’s here.”
He's made a strong case.