METAIRIE, La. — The Pelicans have not yet completed a short list of coaching candidates and might keep interim coach James Borrego on a permanent basis heading into next season, New Orleans basketball operations chief Joe Dumars said Tuesday.
“Yes, James Borrego is a candidate. No we don’t have a list yet; we’re not going to put it out publicly,” Dumars said. “But definitely, James is a candidate for this job permanently going forward.
“I will go outside the building and talk to some other people as well,” Dumars noted, but without projecting a date for when a decision on the next coach might be made. “In terms of a timeline, my timeline is to get it right.”
Dumars met with reporters on Tuesday to review a 2025-26 season that ended on Sunday night at 26-56. Borrego, who took over when Willie Green was fired following a 2-10 start, went 24-46.
What makes Borrego a viable candidate, Dumars said, is “his ability to communicate with his team every day and to do it in a positive way.
“What James did, I thought really well this year, was he never let the building get completely collapsed,” Dumars said. “He always tried to keep the team up and positive. And that’s exactly what you want to see, especially in a situation where he took over and it could have slid.”
Dumars also rejected the notion that keeping Borrego would send a signal of complacency to fans who are starving for a winner.
Since the NBA returned to New Orleans in 2002, the Pelicans have won a grand total of two first-round playoff series in 2008 and 2018. They have missed the playoffs 15 times, including in two straight seasons and three of three past four.
Dumars, however, is not part of that history. He was hired a year ago after the firing of David Griffin.
“The idea that you can’t keep the same coach (after a losing season), I don’t really buy into that,” Dumars said. “I think it’s the person and I think it’s how people react to the person inside the building.”
When asked their opinion about whether Borrego should stay, players tended to diplomatically defer to Dumars, but didn’t shy away from complementing Borrego, either.
“It wasn’t the most convenient of circumstances,” Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson said in reference to Borrego taking over a 2-10 team in November.
“With the circumstances he was placed in, I think he made the most of his opportunity,” added Williamson, who played in 62 games — the second most in a season in his career — and averaged 21 points. “I think he did a good job.”
Borrego, a former head coach with the Charlotte Hornets, said he feels a strong connection to New Orleans, where he served twice as an assistant, including from 2023 until he was promoted this season. He said he felt he had a close and productive relationship with players across the roster and he wants to remain.
“The things I’m most proud of in the season are the commitment that I saw to competing every night,” Borrego said, complimenting his players for “never dropping the sword.”
“We had an amazing spirit in our gym every single day. There was a commitment to development,” Borrego said, noting the heavy minutes and statistical improvements of their two 2025 first-round draft picks, guard Jeremiah Fears (14.3 points per game) and forward Derik Queen (11.7 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game).
Under Borrego, the Pelicans were in 34 “clutch games,” which in the NBA are classified as games within five points in the final five minutes. They went 10-24 in those contests.
“We’re a talented team, but we’re just not consistent enough. Talent alone doesn’t win,” Dumars said. “Some nights it was tough where we just did not look like the team we need to be, but that’s all part of figuring out who you are.”
Borrego said he believes he could address the Pelicans’ enduring shortcomings more fully with an offseason in charge, something he did not have last summer.
“I did the most with what I was given in that time period,” Borrego said. “With an offseason, you’re going to make strides.”
Borrego also cautioned Pelicans fans not to put too much stock in the benefits of yet another coaching change, and to try to see the wisdom in building upon what he sees as an upward trajectory with the current coaching regime in place.
“We can all look at teams that maybe over-reacted and under-reacted. It’s not an exact science,” Borrego said. “There is no complacency here. The goal is to win.
“Sometimes with that comes change. You can overcorrect, under-correct,” Borrego added. “The bottom line is this is a motivated group to get better.
“We kept our energy high. We kept our spirit high,” Borrego said. “For that, I’m grateful.”
