Lakers: 5 assistant coach candidates to hire under Darvin Ham

1. James Borrego

James Borrego was fired by the Charlotte Hornets this offseason in a move that should be surprising to many. While Charlotte did miss the playoffs, Borrego has made the team better as its head coach and it is hard to see the Hornets finding someone that is definitely better than him as a head coach.

A former assistant under Gregg Popovich, Borrego got just four seasons with the Hornets and despite never really having that much talent the team exceeded expectations. Charlotte put together a 39-win season in the 2018-19 campaign and won 43 games in a really tough Eastern Conference this past season.

Yes, he missed the playoffs every year that he was with the team but until LaMelo Ball showed up there really was not anything to get excited about. You know your team is in a rough spot when Terry Rozier of all people is the best player. He should be the fourth or fifth-best player on a contending team.

Borrego does not seem likely to get any head coaching looks because his record in Charlotte was so poor and the Lakers could benefit from adding the young head coach to the fold. While he may not have the same coaching experience as others on this list, he can add value to the Lakers in bringing what he learned under coach Pop.