How Hornets coach James Borrego is building the franchise’s future while veterans sit

The course Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego set in September — a hard pivot toward minutes for young players, without freezing out the veterans — made sense.

The question regarding this strategy was execution.

Could Borrego leverage playing time as an investment in the future, without looking arbitrary to a locker room with high-salary vets? Could he maintain a competitive atmosphere, while still leaning heavily toward first-and second-year pros?

Based on interviews with Hornets players — and the raw stats — Borrego has pulled this off. At mid-season, nearly half the Hornets’ total minutes have gone to rookies or second-year players. Yet several vets said they feel valued and respected this season, even as their minutes have declined.

“We talk a lot — practice, games. (Clarity) is the key,” Nicolas Batum, Charlotte’s highest-paid player with a salary of $25,565,217, said. “(Fans) would be surprised just how much he’s engaged with everyone.”

Over a decade as a San Antonio Spurs assistant, Borrego learned plenty from coach Gregg Popovich. Among the most valuable lessons: Don’t shy away from clarity, even if it entails conflict. Tell players upfront where you stand with them and what they can expect, because delaying those difficult conversations only makes potential problems worse.

That particularly applied to focusing on youth in a rebuild. Borrego called this his “tricky balance.”

“When you’re transparent, it builds genuine trust. Not the fake trust that is running around a lot of the NBA,” Borrego said.

“I learned this from one of the best (Popovich, a future Hall of Famer): The easiest thing is just to (B.S.) somebody and get your way through. Try to pacify... I’d rather deal with it head-on.”

That’s precisely what Borrego did before training camp in late September.

‘Get a crack at minutes’

Borrego was blunt in an interview with the Observer in September about how things would change this season.

“I’m not going to coach a team based on contracts, how much you’re making, where you were drafted, if you were drafted,” he said then, adding, “More than ever, these young guys are going to get a crack at minutes.”

In a 15-26 first half of the season, four players who are in their first or second NBA seasons (Devonte Graham, Miles Bridges and rookies P.J. Washington and Cody Martin) have combined for 4,327 minutes, or 43 percent of the Hornets’ total playing time. Add minutes for Malik Monk and Dwayne Bacon from the 2017 draft class, and that number rises to 5,701 or 56 percent of playing time.

Borrego has made good on not allowing salaries or contracts to define roles: Three of the five top-paid players on this team — Batum, Marvin Williams and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist — have combined for just two starts this season (both by Batum).

However, Borrego has lived up to his promise to honor competition; not to ignore performance to force-feed minutes to young guys. Each of 13 players who started the season on guaranteed contracts (most recently, third-string center Willy Hernangomez) has played at least a patch of time in the rotation.

The variance has been wide; Bacon started the first 10 games, slipped out of the rotation all-together, then returned to steady minutes. Eight-year veteran Bismack Biyombo started at center when Cody Zeller was hurt and provided a physicality that kept him a starter for 25 games.

Borrego said he wouldn’t have predicted in September that this many players would have played significant roles already. He’d like to have a more defined rotation, but circumstances have kept playing time fluid.

Through all this, Williams observed, Borrego’s transparency has kept the locker room together.

“J.B. has been very straight-forward” with the veterans, said Williams, a non-starter for the first time since his rookie season in 2005. “I feel like he has made us older guys a part of this thing as well. Obviously, Nic would love to play more, but he’s a team player. There are times when I maybe would like to play more, but that’s not my job” to decide.

‘The veterans have his back.’

Graham has gone from a second-round pick in 2018 to a featured starter at point guard this season. No Hornet has benefited more from this shift to youth.

He said the grace the veterans have shown in this situation has been essential to a healthy work environment.

“I don’t think any vets feel like they’ve been isolated out. If anything, guys like Marv and Nic are the ones telling me, ‘You’ve got to go get the ball and make a play.’ ” Graham said. “We have guys who give up themselves for the team.”

Williams told Borrego as early as last season he wasn’t hung up on starting. Batum went to Borrego in the preseason, advocating that Washington start instead of him.

“I feel like (Borrego) can go to sleep knowing that in this situation, the veterans have his back,” Williams said.

Borrego would have taken this path regardless of the veterans’ reaction, but he understands it could have been far rockier had the vets not responded how they have. “These are still very capable NBA players. They have sacrificed. I give them a ton of credit,” he said.

The coaching staff has been particularly mindful this season of making sure every player feels valued. For instance, when the deep reserves scrimmage on an off-day, Borrego makes sure to be in the practice gym so they know he’s engaged.

“I almost have to wrap my arms around players 11 through 15 more than 1 through 10,” Borrego said. “Definitely, 1 through 7 knows, ‘I’m in good shape. I’m in the rotation. Coach believes in me.’ Players 10 through 15 aren’t quite sure. It’s my job to let them know that I value all our guys.”

Batum said the end result — watching Graham, Washington, et al. improve — has been gratifying.

“Don’t be the bad, old guys, (saying) ‘Oh, I should be playing!’ Don’t be late for practice or do whatever you want,” Batum said of the culture.

“The future of this franchise is on the court right now. Especially, Devonte, Miles and P.J, and Cody Martin, who is kind of my favorite. Those 3 or 4 are going to be the guys for a long, long time for this franchise.”

Charlotte Hornets salaries and average minutes

Rick Bonnell

The Charlotte Observer

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Rick Bonnell has covered the Charlotte Hornets and the NBA for the Observer since the expansion franchise moved to the Queen City in 1988. A Syracuse grad and former president of the Pro Basketball Writers Association, Bonnell also writes occasionally on the NFL, college sports and the business of sports. Support my work with a digital subscription