4 Perfect Jacque Vaughn Replacements as Nets Head Coach

3. James Borrego

Another current assistant coach who deserves another head coaching gig is James Borrego. The 46-year-old coach is the associate head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans under Willie Green but the Nets should be able to poach him with a head coaching offer.

Similar to Budenholzer, Borrego is a student of the San Antonio Spurs legend Gregg Popovich. Teams have generally done very well hiring from the Popovich coaching tree and the Nets could follow suit. Borrego has worked as an assistant under Pop between 2003 and 2010, and again between 2015 and 2018, having won two titles in the process.

His last head coaching gig was with the Charlotte Hornets between 2018 and 2022. In his four seasons there, Charlotte played above expectations, making the play-in tournament in back-to-back seasons. He built successful offenses with Lamelo Ball at the helm, something his successor Steve Clifford failed to do in Charlotte.

Borrego was the only head coach to make the Hornets watchable over the last decade. Under him, they played fast, scored with efficiency, and were competitive. How bad Charlotte has been since he left two years ago is a testament to his coaching chops. The Nets could do much worse than hiring him.