This post is part of a series I'm trying to make regarding the Hornets offseason. The main post with more info here.
I was going to wait to post the 3rd part of the series until the 2nd round of the playoffs, but with the woj bomb, breaking out that Hornet's coach Borrego got fired, let's talk about what may have led to the decision and what's important to consider for the new hire.
Borrego's time
The Positives:
Player development. Since his arrival, it's safe to say that our draft picks (except Carey and Richards) all made noticeable improvements. Graham, Martin, McDaniels, Bridges and Washington are all cases of a healthy player development program. As we addressed in part 1, Bouknight and Jones lack of minutes were disappointed, but not neccessarily a bad move considering Borrego's track record of giving player one year in the g-league. From all the young player, the only case that was misshandled was the PJ Washington situation until the trade deadline.
Building a bond. As a small market team, you not only want to develop talent but make them create a bond with the city and everyone on the organization to make it possible to keep the players around when they reach their peaks. Lamelo and Borrego seemed to have a great connection, both spending time together during the off-season.
Disclaimer: A lot of reports have emphisazed the win improvements the last 2 years, but that goes more into 'expected' than 'positive'. It was when Hayward was signed, so the team got an all-around wing player that gave us a consistency. Also the ongoing player growth and Lamelo arrival made a part on the team fighting for play-in in the last two years. Before that, the record was of your classic rebuilding Hornets team.
+++
The Negatives:
Horrible defense. Although they improved on that side of the ball following the All-Star break, they finished 22nd in defensive rating and there were too many frustrating outings to close the season. The players seemed always rushing to make a stop as a result of lack of discipline, confidence and trust in the system around them. Even though not having the best defensive players, not being engaged and disciplined on that end of the floor were clear indication that Borrego was also a major part of the team's biggest weakness.
Unrefined rotations. Borrego was a guy that stucked with rotation no matter the cost. The team could be on a losing streak, he still would stick to the same players and minutes in the game. Things also didn't changed enough depending on the matchup. The further he would go was to switch between lineups with a tradional C or a small lineup to close the game with PJ as the center.
Humilliating losses. Not only on the last 2 play-in games, there was multiple example throughout the season were the Hornets would be out of the game by the second quarter. 144 points in consecutive games to Philadelphia and Miami as they were chasing a higher play-in seed proved also were major letdowns considering the Hornets finished with the exact same record as Atlanta, but lost the tiebreaker, and were within a game of 7th place.
What to expect now?
With the last two frustating play-in losses and an unpatient owner, it's hard to imagine that the Hornets will take an approach towards taking a step back, instead it's reallistic to think we'll try to be more on win now mode the next season. Saying that, it's key that the next coach will not only try to repair some of the team main weaknesses in regards to being more competitive but also keeping a positive approach towards internal development.
One thing that I also haven't seen been enough mentioned is that we still have to figure it our if Mitch is going to extend his deal or not, and honestly I'd like to see that solved before the coaching hire. We can be in a situation with a new GM in the next offseason and he'd licking his lips to fire the one-year coach to bring in his own guy.
Checklist for hiring process:
Improve the FO as a whole and solve the GM situation long-term. Make a firm decision if the team will make win-now moves or keep their 2 frps and a deep list of young players urging for minutes.
Abillity to improve team defense with a system where players are more disciplined.
Good with adapting rotations within the flow of the game and matchup based (not stick with same rotation for 10 games just for the sake of it).
Someone that plans to improve the half-court offense around Ball and Bridges, and that have a good view on how to use the other main young players.
Keep people throughout the org that worked well on internal player growth during last 4 seasons.
Choose someone that will make sense with the off-season moves that the FO is planning to make. Don't hire a guy that needs a good big man and keep Plumlee as the starter. Don't hire a guy that overplays veteran and keep both first round picks.