Borrego finally voiced Hornets’ longtime flaw: The hole at center has become too much
Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego voiced Wednesday what has been apparent all season:
He isn’t happy with his options at center, and really hasn’t been since he arrived as Hornets coach in the spring of 2018.
The Hornets were outrebounded 54-33 Wednesday in a nine-point road loss to the Boston Celtics. The Celtics scored 22 points in the lane in the first quarter, building a 20-point lead.
Borrego was asked post-game about the state of Charlotte’s center position. His response was emphatic.
“Every night I’m just trying to figure it out with that group. It’s been like that for three years,” Borrego said. “It may be another three years that we continue to look like that, actually ...
“Just trying to piece it together.”
The center minutes have been a constant churn this Hornets season. Cody Zeller, Bismack Biyombo, P.J. Washington and rookie Vernon Carey have all started over 62 games without anyone stabilizing the position. Washington, a natural power forward at 6-foot-7, is likely the starter the rest of the season. Borrego went with Washington to find scoring, as Washington has the shooting range and athleticism to force opposing centers out of the lane defensively.
However, it’s hard to imagine Washington as the primary center solution long-term. There are games when his lack of height makes matchups unrealistic, like when Philadelphia 76ers 7-footer Joel Embiid is the opponent.
Borrego’s experiment with rookie Carey lasted four games before Borrego shelved that in a playoff race. Veterans Biyombo and Zeller have each bounced between starting and not playing at all. Zeller went three games without playing before scoring 16 points off the bench versus the Celtics.
Between Washington (outside shooting), Biyombo (defense) and Zeller (versatile scoring), each of the veterans has a niche. However, none of those three is complete enough as an NBA center to fill what Borrego needs, and has needed for multiple seasons.
“I’m looking for a two-way option right now,” Borrego said. “Biz gives us more defense, more energy, more paint-protection, more rebounding. Cody does a little bit of everything ...
“We’ve got to rebound the ball better. We’ve struggled — I’m going back three years now — from that position. All three guys have got to rebound at a higher level.”
Nothing new about rebounding deficit
It was no revelation the Hornets ended last season with a center problem. They were last in the NBA in defensive-rebound percentage (74.4%) and sixth-worst in points in the paint allowed (50.5).
Despite those flaws, Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak did little in the offseason to change the position. He re-signed Biyombo to a one-year, $3.5 million contract and acquired Carey and Richards in the second round of the draft. There was no expectation that rookies Carey or Richards would offer quick impact, particularly in a pandemic season when normal development vehicles, like the G-League or summer league, were limited or canceled.
Kupchak was interested in center James Wiseman in the draft, but Wiseman went to Golden State with the second pick, and third pick LaMelo Ball has been a hit as the Hornets’ point guard. The Hornets devoted their salary-cap space to free agent Gordon Hayward’s 4-year, $120 million contract. While Hayward filled a big need at small forward, acquiring him left little flexibility to add a veteran center.
Kupchak also didn’t land a center at the trade deadline or in the buyout market, so Borrego has continued mixing and matching what was there to start the season.
Tools to address center problem
If the Hornets qualify for the playoffs, they won’t have a lottery pick for the first time in five drafts. However, they should have abundant room under the salary cap — up to around $30 million — to facilitate trades and/or free-agent signings this offseason.
Among the possibilities: Pursuing Sacramento Kings center Richaun Holmes in free agency or a trade for Indiana Pacer Myles Turner.
Kupchak acknowledged last month that change at center is a priority.
“That is, and was, a focus,” Kupchak said following the March 25 trade deadline.
“Since Cody and Biz are both going to be free agents, that would be an area of concern going forward. This summer they’re going to have options and we may or may not have options.”
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Borrego finally voiced Hornets’ longtime flaw: The hole at center has become too much."
