There will be a few new coaching faces with new teams when next season kicks off in the NBA, and one of those teams will include the Phoenix Suns. Mike Budenholzer, who coached the Milwaukee Bucks to a title in 2021, was let go after Phoenix missed out on the playoffs. The championship head coach was allowed just one season. He signed a five-year contract last summer to improve the team’s play and make the most of the Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal trio. Budenholzer fell short and was shown the door. Now, Matt Ishbia and James Jones will seek a third coach in as many years to lead the franchise to start the 2025-26 season. Over in New Orleans, James Borrego is likely to attract attention from the Suns as a candidate.
Ex-Hornets HC James Borrego an Expected Suns Candidate
Phoenix Suns likely to look at New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego for the 2025-26 season
Phoenix could become a possible destination for Borrego. However, we shouldn’t push aside what might come available with the team he already coaches. It was reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that recently fired general manager David Griffin wanted to fire Willie Green earlier in the season. However, he wasn’t given the green light to do so by ownership. Ownership may have already intended to let Griffin go at the end of the season and keep Green in-house. For now, Green remains. Considering a new GM will enter the scene in the near future, though, that could complicate Green’s position in New Orleans. This could open the door for Borrego if the Pelicans organization sees him as a possible candidate.
Borrego has paced the sidelines of an NBA court as a head coach before, from May 2018 to April 2022. His 138-163 record and play-in tournament loss to the Atlanta Hawks in ’22 led to his exit. However, Borrego’s not-so-exceptional head coaching resume hasn’t blacklisted him by any means. He was rumored to be a candidate for a few teams over the past two seasons. Before hiring JJ Redick, Borrego was linked to the Los Angeles Lakers. Borrego’s name has moved into the upper echelon of past head coaches who are likely to get another opportunity at some point, and this summer could be the time.
Borrego in Pheonix?
With Budenholzer out, the Suns will search for another coach. The current Pelicans assistant could be in contention, according to HoopsHypes’s Scotto. Suppose Green ends up staying with New Orleans. That would shut the door on a promotion for Borrego. That said, he should be in line for another chance, whether in Phoenix or elsewhere. One thing is for sure: if he lands with the Suns, he’ll take over a team likely to be without Durant and possibly Beal. Phoenix has to be praying that Beal drops his no-trade clause by this point.
If Borrego emerges as a serious candidate in Phoenix, the Suns will usher in a third voice in three years. For Borrego, that’s shaky ground from the start. Unfortunately, a head coaching job is an opportunity you sometimes have to take because it’s there. Borrego could find himself in that spot soon.
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