2019 NBA Mock Draft: No one in the lottery wants to lose
player. 170. . F. North Carolina. Nassir Little. 9
Throughout rookie head coach James Borrego’s short tenure in Charlotte, his proclivity for quick-twitch changes to the rotation has become his signature. There are many benefits to this sort of strategy: Keeping the whole roster fresh; maximizing the players by finding combinations that help them work together better; challenging opponents trying to game plan on a nightly basis. It also is perfect for a changing roster full of young players who don’t quite know what they are yet.
“I’d rather dictate. Sometimes it’s going to work and sometimes not,” Borrego told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. “I just don’t operate on the mindset I’m going to follow your lead: Let you dictate tempo to us and matchups to us.”
Now, the onus falls on the front office to give Borrego players to help him be more versatile. The coach has used Marvin Williams at center, played two of Kemba Walker, Devonte Graham and Tony Parker together often, and jumbled the minutes of youngsters Miles Bridges and Malik Monk over the course of the year. That’s the mark of a creative coach who is willing to change and adapt and it could signal a change in the types of players Charlotte targets.
Enter Little, a tweener forward ironing out his game in a tough situation a few miles away at UNC. Little flashed a ton of playmaking potential in high school that has disappeared in college but he’s big enough to play the 4 in the NBA. That type of guy would benefit tremendously from a creative, adaptive coach who will give him minutes if he earns them.