The Phoenix Suns did not have the 2023-24 season they hoped for after trading the last of their remaining draft assets for Bradley Beal. The former Wizards star struggled to stay healthy and by the time he did get onto the floor with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, that trio never clicked and ultimately got steamrolled in four games by the Minneosta Timberwolves in the first round.
With nothing left to move in terms of draft assets and their cap sheet maxed out, the Suns have few avenues to make changes this offseason. That meant Frank Vogel, despite just one year on the job, was on the hot seat as a coaching change was their best chance to try something new for next year. Sure enough, on Thursday word broke that Vogel had been fired.
The first name tied to the Suns opening was Mike Budenholzer, the former Bucks and Hawks head coach that took a year off from coaching after being let go by Milwaukee. There were whispers players were interested in Chauncey Billups, who could be on the way out of Portland, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski indicated talks with Budenholzer were moving quickly and trending towards a hire.
Budenholzer is the Suns’ target and talks are expected to move quickly, sources tell ESPN. He’s been working to assemble a coaching staff for a return to a head coaching job and that process is also gathering momentum, sources said. https://t.co/PSWPi9C6Pr
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 9, 2024
Budenholzer led the Bucks to a title in 2021 and is widely respected around the league, but the fit in Phoenix is a bit curious. Budenholzer’s teams have, historically, been aggressive attacking the rim and shooting three-pointers. Bud’s teams have been top-8 in three-point attempts every year except one, the year the Hawks started dismantling things and signed Dwight Howard.
The Suns, meanwhile, have two of the highest volume midrange shooters in Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Those two weren’t particularly interested in putting up a lot of threes under Vogel (Phoenix was 25th in three-point volume this year), and it’s hard to see them changing what they do dramatically under Budenholzer. That is one of the many fascinating challenges facing Budenholzer in Phoenix, but he must be confident he has a plan to extract the most out of this Suns team and make them the contenders they believe they should be.
