Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Hire Mike Budenholzer As Head Coach

May 11th, 2024 at 11:29am CST by Dana Gauruder

May 11: The Suns have officially announced the hiring of Budenholzer, making it official in a press release.

“Mike’s exceptional basketball acumen, championship pedigree and his standing as one of the NBA’s premier coaches will be invaluable as we compete for a championship,” Suns general manager James Jones said in a statement. “We’re confident that under his leadership our team will reach new levels of success.”

May 10, 5:32pm: Budenholzer and the Suns have agreed to a five-year deal worth in excess of $50MM, sources tell Charania (Twitter link).

May 10, 11:05am: The Suns are hiring Budenholzer, the Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin tweets.

The hiring will “most likely” be officially completed this weekend, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter links), who adds that Phoenix liked Budenholzer’s “ability to hold players accountable.”

May 10, 9:24am: The Suns are planning to hire Mike Budenholzer as their head coach, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). Budenholzer’s multi-year contract is expected to approach eight figures per year, Charania adds.

It’s a swift move by Suns owner Mat Ishbia and the front office, as they announced the firing of Frank Vogel on Thursday. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported later in the day on Thursday that Budenholzer was the frontrunner for the job.

Like Vogel, who lasted just one season with Phoenix, Budenholzer brings a championship résumé to a roster with three stars — Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal — and a collection of role players, mostly on veteran’s minimum contracts.

“They view Mike Budenholzer as a clear choice that can really come in there and optimize those three guys,” Charania said on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back program (video link). “That’s really where this all hinges at, that the big three (is) being fully maximized and utilized the right way offensively.”

A two-time Coach of the Year and an Arizona native, Budenholzer won a championship with Milwaukee in 2021. He coached the Hawks for five seasons and the Bucks for five seasons, compiling a 484-317 regular season record and a 56-48 mark in the postseason.

Phoenix had the league’s third-highest payroll in ’23/24, and that figure is projected to continue to grow in ’24/25. The Suns have very little flexibility to make roster changes, due to their salary being above the second tax apron, so changing coaches is one of the few ways of shaking things up unless they look to move one of their stars.

In a full story for The Athletic, Charania, Doug Haller and Eric Nehm report that David Fizdale, Vogel’s top assistant, is expected to be offered a front office role with Phoenix. However, the belief is that Fizdale will turn down that offer.

Suns Notes: Budenholzer, Billups, Coaching Search, O’Neale

May 9th, 2024 at 6:01pm CST by Luke Adams

After initially reporting that Mike Budenholzer will be a “prominent part” of the Suns‘ search for a new head coach following Frank Vogel‘s dismissal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links) cites sources who say Budenholzer has emerged as the frontrunner for the position. A deal could come together relatively quickly, Wojnarowski adds.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 shared a similar report, tweeting that Budenholzer is the “most likely” hire for the Suns. Gambadoro suggested that the search process won’t last long, with perhaps just two or three candidates receiving serious consideration.

According to Wojnarowski, Budenholzer has been preparing for the possibility of returning to an NBA head coaching job by working on assembling a potential staff. He has also been mentioned as a possibility for the Lakers, but it sounds as if there’s more momentum toward a deal with Phoenix.

Here’s more on the Suns:

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) has heard that Chauncey Billups would have support from Suns players as a head coaching candidate. Billups played on Team USA with Kevin Durant in 2010 and is a “known admirer” of Devin Booker, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report points out (via Twitter). Of course, Billups is still under contract as the Trail Blazers‘ head coach, but previous reporting indicated that teams around the NBA are keeping an eye on that situation.
Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports takes a look at a handful of possible candidates to replace Vogel, discussing four other potential targets besides Budenholzer and Billups.
Should the Timberwolves’ road dominance in the first two games of their series vs. the Nuggets change the way the Suns view their four consecutive playoff losses to Minnesota? Bourguet explores that question in an article for the PHNX newsletter.
In one more story for PHNX Sports, Bourguet lays out why re-signing unrestricted free agent forward Royce O’Neale is the only logical option for Phoenix this offseason, since the team would have no real way to replace him with a similar player if he walks.

Suns Fire Frank Vogel

May 9th, 2024 at 3:30pm CST by Rory Maher

The Suns have fired head coach Frank Vogel, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link via Sam Amick of The Athletic).

“After a thoughtful review of the season, we concluded that we needed a different head coach for our team,” said president of basketball operations and general manager James Jones. “We appreciate Frank’s hard work and commitment. We are here to win a championship and last season was way below our expectations.”

The news was first broken by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who says (via Twitter) former Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer will be a “prominent part” of Phoenix’s new coaching search.

The Suns dismissed Vogel, who won a championship as head coach of the Lakers in 2020, after just 11 months on the job. When he was hired last June, he reportedly received a five-year, $31MM contract.

It was an up-and-down 2023/24 season for Vogel and the Suns, who entered the campaign with championship aspirations but were swept in their first-round playoff series by the Timberwolves. Minnesota currently leads its second-round series with the defending-champion Nuggets 2-0 after winning a pair of games in Denver.

Phoenix went 49-33 during the regular season, claiming the West’s No. 6 seed entering the playoffs. Injuries, holes on the roster, and positional/skill overlap were issues throughout ’23/24.

The Suns’ gig was Vogel’s fourth NBA head coaching job. He coached the Pacers for five-and-a-half seasons from 2011-16, moved to Orlando from 2016-18, and was the Lakers’ leader for three years from 2019-22. He was an assistant with Boston, Philadelphia and Indiana before the Pacers promoted him mid-season in 2011.

Phoenix will be looking for another head coach for the second straight offseason, as the team dismissed former Coach of the Year Monty Williams, who led the team to an NBA Finals appearance in 2021, last year.

Owner Mat Ishbia has made several eyebrow-raising moves since he took majority control in 2023, pushing for a blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant and then adding another maximum-salary player in Bradley Beal last offseason. Ishbia and Jones projected optimism at a press conference following the team’s playoff ouster, yet ultimately made another major change by firing Vogel.

While Jones’ job is safe, Phoenix will be making other front office changes, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, who reports (All Twitter links) that the coaching search will likely only feature two or three names, with former NBA sharpshooter J.J. Redick not among the candidates. Budenholzer is the current frontrunner, Gambadoro confirms, adding that a decision should be made by next week.

Phoenix had the league’s third-highest payroll in ’23/24, and that figure is projected to continue to grow in ’24/25. Whomever is hired will obviously face intense pressure to produce immediate results next season.

As our tracker shows, the Nets and Hornets have concluded their coaching searches in 2024, while the Suns join the Lakers and Wizards as teams with ongoing searches.

Nikola Jokic Named Most Valuable Player

May 8th, 2024 at 6:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been selected as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the third time in four years, the league announced (via Twitter).

Jokic won the Michael Jordan Trophy by a wide margin, showing up on all 99 ballots and collecting 79 votes for first place, 18 for second place and two for third place, giving him a total of 926 points. Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished second, collecting 640 total points by coming in first on 15 ballots, second on 40, third on 40, fourth on three and fifth on one.

Rounding out the top five were Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (4-36-50-8-0-566), Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (1-1-4-44-23-192) and Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (0-3-1-28-32-142).

Also receiving votes were Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0-0-1-14-39-89), Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (0-1-1-1-3-18), Kings center Domantas Sabonis (one fourth-place vote) and Suns forward Kevin Durant (one fifth-place vote).

Jokic becomes the ninth player to claim at least three MVP awards (Twitter link). He ties Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone, and trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan and Bill Russell (five each), and Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James (four each).

The Nuggets celebrated the honor by tweeting a video tribute to Jokic narrated by his wife, Natalija.

Jokic posted another outstanding statistical season, averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists in 79 games. He shot 58.3% from the field and 35.9% from three-point range as Denver claimed the second seed in the Western Conference.

Bennett Durando of The Denver Post took a closer look at Jokic’s historic season, noting that he finished fifth in the league in total points, third in total rebounds and second in total assists. He also collected 25 triple-doubles and posted a true shooting percentage above 65% for the third straight season while leading the NBA in most advanced stats, including PER, VORP, box plus-minus, and win shares.

“I think he’s stated his case pretty well,” Jamal Murray said today before the award was announced. “He does it every night. It’s hard to do what he does and face the kind of pressure that he does each and every day. He does it in the smallest ways. He makes everybody around us better. He’s a leader on the court and someone we expect greatness from every time he steps on the court. And he’s delivered. … He’s been so consistent all his career, all his MVP runs. He’s been so consistent. So I don’t expect one or two bad games to sway that in any way.”

Pacific Notes: Suns’ Stars, Vogel, Kings, A. Davis

May 7th, 2024 at 3:02pm CST by Luke Adams

While there has been some speculation that the Suns will break up their big three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal this summer following a disappointing first-round playoff exit, Brian Windhorst of ESPN doesn’t get the sense the team is seriously considering taking that path. In an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show (YouTube link), Windhorst said he expects all three stars to remain in Phoenix.

“Do people in the league say (the Suns will have to trade a star)? Yes, they do,” Windhorst said (hat tip to RealGM). “I’ve talked to multiple people who think that’s what they’re going to have to do. Do the Suns say that? No, they do not. I think the Suns’ intention is to keep all three of these star players, tweak the roster, tweak some of their systems and their processes, and try to be better next year.”

As Windhorst notes, the Suns’ approach to the offseason could change if one of their stars asked to be traded, but there was no indication in their end-of-season comments to the media that any of them is looking to get out of Phoenix. In fact, Durant and Booker expressed a belief in the value of continuity.

“Not that he is sworn to telling the whole truth all the time (but) Durant when he left basically said, ‘I think continuity is valuable,'” Windhorst said. “He was looking at the Timberwolves team that had basically brought their entire team back from last year and he was like, ‘That continuity is pretty important there.'”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

A decision on the future of Suns head coach Frank Vogel is expected to happen “soon,” sources tell Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Team owner Mat Ishbia essentially said as much when he spoke to reporters last Wednesday, indicating that the club would conduct an in-depth evaluation of its season, including Vogel’s performance, before making any decisions. It sounds like that evaluation process is almost complete.
While the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement will make it more difficult for taxpaying teams like Phoenix to make roster upgrades, it could actually benefit the Kings, according to James Ham of The Kings Beat. As Ham details, the new CBA gives teams that are under the tax aprons more trade flexibility, since they’re subject to more lenient salary-matching rules and – beginning this offseason – are permitted to use their mid-level exception to acquire players via trade.
Appearing on ESPN’s SportsCenter (Twitter video link) over the weekend, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said that Lakers star Anthony Davis will have a voice in the team’s head coaching search (hat tip to Lakers Nation). “Of course LeBron James’ opinion will be taken into consideration, but not just LeBron James — Anthony Davis as well, I’m told,” McMenamin said. “The team kind of looks at Anthony Davis as finally taking the torch from LeBron in the last season-and-a-half. While LeBron can still have the time to process the end of this season as he decides his future with the team, they have another voice and another leader in Anthony Davis, whose opinion they will take under consideration.”

Western Notes: Gobert, Finch, Hardaway, Pelicans, OKC, Suns

May 6th, 2024 at 1:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert has been downgraded to questionable for Game 2 against the Nuggets on Monday night for personal reasons, tweets Sam Amick of The Athletic. According to Amick (Twitter link), based on conversations with Wolves officials, it sounds as if Gobert’s availability is “completely up in the air.” His status is believed to be related to the birth of his first child, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.

Gobert only scored six points in Minnesota’s Game 1 victory, but played an important role in the win, grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking three shots. The Wolves were a +12 during his 35 minutes. If he ends up missing Game 2, it will negatively impact the team’s chances of taking a 2-0 lead back home to Minnesota.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Chris Finch‘s new spot on the sidelines worked out well in Game 1, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The Timberwolves‘ head coach, who underwent knee surgery last Wednesday, had to sit next to the scorer’s table in the second row of the bench to protect his knee, but he had no issues communicating with his players. “It’s a little surreal just being that much separated from the action, if you will. But it was great,” Finch said. “I felt like I was in a safe place. I have utmost confidence in our staff and their ability. I thought they did an amazing job. Communicated well. Of course, it was all made better by a really good win. It’s our new reality. Just got to find a rhythm.”
While the Mavericks will be without big man Maxi Kleber (shoulder) for their second-round series vs. Oklahoma City, another rotation player is set to return to action. Tim Hardaway Jr., who missed the last four games of the first round with a sprained ankle, will be available on Tuesday for Game 1, tweets Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.
The Pelicans and Thunder essentially began their rebuilding processes at the same time and were in similar positions five years ago, according to Christian Clark of NOLA.com, who considers how and why Oklahoma City has “zoomed ahead” of New Orleans since then.
Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic spoke to several national NBA reporters – from ESPN, The Athletic, NBA.com, and other outlets – about what went wrong in Phoenix this season and how they might try to fix the Suns this summer.

Jason Kidd, Ty Lue Unlikely To Be Candidates For Lakers’ Job

May 5th, 2024 at 5:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Don’t expect Jason Kidd or Tyronn Lue to replace Darvin Ham as the Lakers’ head coach, Marc Stein reports in his latest Stein Line notes package.

Kidd, who has one year left on his contract with the Mavericks, will likely receive a contract extension in the near future after the team advanced to the Western Conference semifinals, according to Stein’s sources. Kidd was a top Lakers assistant coach under Frank Vogel.

As previously reported by ESPN, the Clippers are expected to pursue an extension with Lue, who also has one year remaining on his deal. Lue has stated he’s eager to sign an extension with their organization.

That would block not only the Lakers but the Suns from making a run at Lue. It’s also believed that the Cavaliers would be interested in a Lue reunion if they decide to change coaches. However, J.B. Bickerstaff strengthened his resume as the Cavs rallied to win Game 7 against Orlando on Sunday and advanced to the second round.

That’s why it’s not a far-fetched notion that J.J. Redick has a shot to replace Ham, Stein adds, despite Redick’s lack of coaching experience. Redick, who is also a candidate for the Hornets’ opening, is currently an ESPN analyst and podcaster after a long NBA career.

Like Kidd, Mavericks GM Nico Harrison is also on course for a contract extension from new Mavericks majority owner Patrick Dumont, Stein says.

Harrison’s trade-deadline acquisitions of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford helped the team win 50 games again during the regular season and claim the No. 5 seed in the West. His risky acquisition of Kyrie Irving last season has worked out even better than most NBA observers anticipated.

And-Ones: All-In Teams, Second Apron, Paris, Larkin

May 3rd, 2024 at 11:35am CST by Rory Maher

The Suns, Lakers and Heat have all mortgaged significant future assets and spent a lot of money to make themselves better in the present, yet none of the three won 50 games in the regular season and they combined to win just two playoff games before being eliminated in the first round, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic.

As Hollinger details, all three teams face difficult questions entering the offseason, with Phoenix’s long-term outlook particularly problematic. Still, the best course of action for all three might be making relatively minor moves instead of going even more all-in than they already are, says Hollinger.

In the short-term, Miami is probably in the worst position of the three teams from a talent perspective, according to Hollinger, but the Heat have better young players than Phoenix and L.A. and have proven adept at developing undrafted free agents.

Seven of the NBA’s 10 biggest spenders in 2023/24 have already been eliminated from championship contention, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Those teams are, in order, the Warriors (No. 1), Suns (No. 3), Bucks (No. 5), Heat (No. 7), Lakers (No. 8), Pelicans (No. 9) and Sixers (No. 10).

The Clippers, who had the league’s second-highest payroll this season, also trail their first-round series with Dallas, Marks observes. Only the Celtics (No. 4) and Nuggets (No. 6) have advanced to the second round.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:salary cap

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports takes a closer look at the NBA’s second tax apron, a new addition to last year’s CBA. The most restrictive aspects of the second apron will kick in this offseason, Fischer notes.
The NBA confirmed in a press release that Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will face Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers for a pair of regular season games in Paris next year. The games in France’s capital will be held on January 23 and January 25, 2025.
Guard Shane Larkin, who played four NBA seasons with Dallas, New York, Brooklyn and Boston from 2013-18, has signed a four-year extension with Turkey’s Anadolu Efes, the team announced in a press release (via Twitter). The 31-year-old has been one of the best players in Europe over the past several years, averaging 16.8 PPG, 5.1 APG, 2.9 RPG and 1.1 SPG on .464/.395/.912 shooting in 34 EuroLeague contests in ’23/24 (31.7 MPG).

Suns Notes: Narratives, Future, Olympics, Jones

May 2nd, 2024 at 6:44pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After getting swept out of the first round of this year’s playoffs by the Timberwolves, the Suns face a potentially very expensive future, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

The Suns have limited options for improving the team around their current starting lineup of All-Stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, plus former All-Star Bradley Beal, center Jusuf Nurkic, and swingman Grayson Allen. Pincus notes that the Suns may look to offload one of their three priciest players in Durant, Beal or even Booker to add higher-quality role player help.

The Suns’ payroll could head north of $213MM next year, far above the league’s second tax apron of $189.5MM. That will greatly impede some of the team-building options previously open to tax-paying teams.

Pincus believes Phoenix will strive to hold onto combo forward Royce O’Neale this summer and thinks the Suns should at least explore offloading Nassir Little‘s $6.8MM contract.

There’s more out of Phoenix:

Though things do look dire for the Suns now, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports takes pains to push back on five “annoying” Phoenix-relative narratives heading into a long offseason, suggesting that the team has a bit more opportunity and higher upside than it might appear. For instance, though the Suns don’t control their own draft picks in the immediate future, the team will still have at least some picks, including first-rounders. Bourguet also believes the club’s current core might just need more time playing together to truly become successful in the playoffs.
The 2024 Olympics in Paris could have an impact on the fates of the Suns’ stars, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN (YouTube video link) details. “Kevin Durant has reached a point in his career where his future is basically determined by him, and so where he’s at is going to be very important,” Windhorst said. “One variable… is that this summer is an Olympic summer. Team USA is gathering, and this is the biggest gathering of star players on Team USA since the Beijing Olympics in 2008. We have never seen this collection of stars who have committed over basically the last decade-and-a-half. On that team will be Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, they have committed to play in it… Let’s see where everybody’s mood is after the Olympics experience is, because you know that Team USA always opens up doors for big things to happen with star players.”
Following pressers from both Suns owner Mat Ishbia and general manager James Jones on Wednesday, Doug Haller of The Athletic seems convinced the team will not look to move on from its starting five. The club’s three stars — Durant, Booker, and Beal — only suited up for 41 regular season contests together, and key Phoenix decision-makers believe they have room to grow together. The club will at least talk about acquiring a true starting-caliber point guard, Haller notes. “We’ll go through every channel,” Jones said. “We’ll explore every scenario to add and build our team. It’s important to remember that we’re starting with six, seven, eight, really good core players. And when you’re talking about building on the margins, I think we have more than enough to do that effectively.”

Mat Ishbia Says Decision On Frank Vogel Coming Soon

May 1st, 2024 at 9:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

A decision about the future of Suns head coach Frank Vogel will likely be made in the next few days, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.

Owner Mat Ishbia refused to pledge his support for Vogel during a press conference today at Footprint Center. However, he added that rumors about Vogel, players or other team employees shouldn’t be given any weight because in-person discussions haven’t begun.

“We’re going to evaluate everything,” Ishbia told reporters. “… Everything is on the table to evaluate. We have just not started it.”

Vogel, who was hired last June, still has four seasons left on his five-year, $31MM contract so a coaching change would be an expensive move. Vogel claimed over the weekend that he has “full confidence” from Ishbia, but the Suns’ ugly performance while being swept by Minnesota may have changed the team owner’s view.

General manager James Jones, who also spoke to reporters, indicated that management understands Vogel had a challenging task in trying to mold the talents of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, who were in their first full season together.

After an up-and-down start, the Suns finished with a surge and avoided the play-in tournament with a win on the final day of the regular season. They went 49-33 and appeared to be on an upswing before crashing in the playoffs.

“I thought Frank did a great job given the circumstances,” Jones said. “I thought the staff did a great job. I thought the players did a really good job, just not good enough to reach our goals.”

Ishbia also expressed optimism about the direction of the franchise, which he believes is on a path to success despite the postseason setback. He said he can identify with the disappointment from Suns’ fans because he feels the same way.

“I feel like the narrative around [here is] the house is burning, it’s incorrect,” Ishbia said. “… Fans like to look in the future and say, ‘Hey, I really like that 2031 draft pick because maybe that seventh grader is going to be really good and we’re going to draft him and one day he’s going to be a player.'”

Ishbia pointed out that Phoenix will have a first-round pick in five of the next eight drafts, even though some of those are pick swaps. He added that two of those picks are eligible to be included in trades this offseason.

Holmes notes that the Suns already have $209MM committed for next season, which is the largest salary in the NBA and would result in a $116MM tax penalty. They will be well above the second apron for the next three seasons if the core of the team remains together.

Ishbia looked on the bright side of that situation, saying that the starting five is under contract for multiple years, providing continuity no matter what happens with the rest of the roster.

He identified the team’s major issues as injuries and the time it takes for players to get used to being together and said both are “extremely fixable.” He also defended the trades for Durant and Beal, saying both players are worth the price it took to bring them to Phoenix.

“It was never, ‘We’re going to win a championship this year or we got to blow it up,” Ishbia said. “… Championship or bust, this isn’t bust. We’re in a great position. We’re going to be in a great position next year.”