The Head Coach frenzy in the NBA continues, as many teams without coaches do their due diligence and hand out interviews to anyone fit for the job. The abundance of the coaches in the free market right now makes it a little bit hectic for teams looking to find a coach to lead their teams. Just last week, the Grizzlies joined that conversation by firing Head Coach Dave Joerger, and entering the market to find new blood for a confused Memphis team.
The Grizzlies were swept by the 2nd seed San Antonio Spurs in the 1st round of the Playoffs, without Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Brandan Wright and other key players that helped them to a 42-40 season. With tons of uncertainty heading into the offseason for the Grizzlies, one thing is for sure, they want to lock up a Head Coach to keep this Grizzlies team together. One option they’re looking at is someone who was on the other bench during their 1st round loss, Spurs Assistant Coach, James Borrego.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports and The Vertical:
San Antonio Spurs assistant coach James Borrego met with Memphis Grizzlies officials on Sunday to discuss the franchise’s head-coaching job, league sources told The Vertical.
Memphis officials have discussed the job with several candidates, including former Pacers coach Frank Vogel, and are working through an initial round of meetings, league sources said.
For those who don’t know who Borrego is, he has spent his fair share of time in the NBA. He began his career with the Spurs as an Assistant Video Coordinator in 2003, later on being promoted to Assistant Coach, and in 2010 moved to help Monty Williams in New Orleans. After a brief stint as Assistant Coach to Jacque Vaughn in Orlando (which led to him being interim head coach after February), Borrego returned to the Spurs as Assistant Coach for this season. As we know, the Spurs were eliminated in the 2nd round by the Oklahoma City Thunder, which gives the Memphis Grizzlies the opportunity to interview the experienced Borrego. The search doesn’t end there as the Grizzlies will continue to interview top assistant coaches and coaches in order to find the leader to take the helm in October.
