Ranking the first 5 candidates in the Milwaukee Bucks’ coaching search
By Dalton Sell
No. 2 – James Borrego
Among these candidates, James Borrego is certainly one of the more surprising for the Bucks as the front office looks to find a new voice.
He had a brief stint as the head coach of the Orland Magic in 2014-15 after Coach Jacque Vaughn was fired and then coached the Charlotte Hornets for four seasons. Though Borrego’s teams have never made the postseason, they have shown signs of improvement. During his final three years as the coach of the Hornets, Borrego’s teams went from 23 wins to 33 to 43 year by year. That’s impressive work by Borrego, who made the play-in tournament in those final two years.
The big uncertainty with Borrego is his ability to coach in the postseason, as he’s never led a team there. How would he do on a Bucks team that has championship aspirations from the jump? It’s an extremely important question and why many Bucks fans have clamored for guys like Nick Nurse or Frank Vogel, who have both led title-winning rosters with star players. Although he does have regular season coaching experience, Borrego not having any playoff outings could be a gamble on the Milwaukee Bucks’ end, given their aspirations.
Borrego lands ahead of Brooks and the other candidates due to his skills offensively. During his final season as the Hornets’ coach, Charlotte ranked eighth in offensive rating and led the NBA in assists. Yes, that’s just one season, but Borrego has always been an offensive-minded coach. With a roster like Milwaukee’s, there is no telling what he could do. The Bucks need someone who can bring some creativity to that end, and he fits the billing.
It will be interesting to see just how captivated the Milwaukee Bucks are with Borrego as their head coaching search progresses this off-season.