Three Names to Watch for in the Hornets' Head Coaching Search
A ten win improvement in each of the last two years was not good enough for James Borrego to keep his job as the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets. Last week, Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak released a statement that noted the franchise had relieved Borrego of his duties after four years.
In my opinion, I think this was more of a reaction to how the team performed in the play-in game in each of the last two seasons than anything else. Nonetheless, the Hornets have decided to move on and look in a different direction to take this team from one of the most exciting, young teams the NBA has to offer to a team that is considered a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference.
With it still being very early in the process, there are several names being thrown out there for the job. As candidates are revealed, we will take a deeper dive into those in particular but for now, these are the three names that popped into my head immediately.
Jay Larranaga
The Charlotte native is a well-respected assistant in the NBA and has played a major part in the defensive plays in the Boston Celtics (2012-21) and Los Angeles Clippers (2021-22). Larranaga interviewed for the Hornets' head coaching vacancy the last time around and was named a finalist before it was awarded to Borrego.
In his lone year with the Clippers, the team posted a defensive rating of 109.5 which is good for eighth-best in the league. Being an understudy to Brad Stevens for a number of years in Boston has served him well also. There's no question about the Hornets' ability to score the ball, the major question marks come on the defensive end of the floor. Larranaga should be able to come right in and install some defensive principles that will improve that end of the floor from day one.
Frank Vogel
No, the Lakers didn't live up to expectations this season and in fact, missed out on the playoffs altogether. That said, the roster was never really constructed for success this season with the aging veterans they had. Once Anthony Davis was sidelined for a long period of time, that only made matters worse. This doesn't mean Frank Vogel is a bad coach. It was more of a good coach getting disposed due to an unlucky situation with a team that featured LeBron James on it.
Vogel, also a defensive-minded coach, has years of head coaching experience and has been very successful since earning his first HC job back in 2011 season at the age of 37. He knows how to win and do so with a young team.
Brian Shaw
An off-the-radar name that makes a lot of sense is Clippers assistant Brian Shaw. Much like Larranaga, Shaw has had a hand in the Clippers' success on the defensive end of the floor. More importantly, at least in regards to the Charlotte job opening, he has very strong ties to GM Mitch Kupchak. Now, there is some uncertainty revolving around Kupchak's future as the general manager but if he does indeed stay on board, Shaw will be a name to watch. He was also recently the head coach of the G-League Ignite and did a pretty fine job of developing a lot of that young talent.
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