Phoenix Suns Fire Head Coach Mike Budenholzer, Now Must Find Stability

For the third consecutive spring, the Phoenix Suns are making a coaching change.

Phoenix made the decision Monday morning to fire head coach Mike Budenholzer after just one season. Budenholzer had four years and $40 million remaining on his contract, which means Suns owner Mat Ishbia elected to eat the salary in efforts to land someone that could be a long-term fit.

The team announced the termination in a statement: “Competing at the highest level remains our goal, and we failed to meet expectations this season. Our fans deserve better. Change is needed.”

Budenholzer was their guy in the beginning. It only took Phoenix a few days to hire him after relieving Frank Vogel of his duties last May. Everyone in the organization was ecstatic the moment Budenholzer, an Arizona native, walked through the door.

Media Day last September sounded promising – smiles were aplenty and the word ‘compete’ was transcribed a hundred times.

However, the situation flopped.

The Suns finished with a 36-46 record, 17 wins below my season projection and completely out of the play-in tournament. Their halfcourt defense allowed 102.5 points per 100 possessions, dead last in the NBA.

Let this be a lesson of how quickly things change in the NBA. It’s the wildest and most volatile league in professional sports when it comes to coaching and player movement, which certainly drives the fan interest.

This is an admission by Ishbia and the Suns – an acknowledgement they got it wrong and went about things in the wrong manner.

Although it seemed like a solid marriage at the time, they did jump the gun on hiring Budenholzer instead of properly searching the market or taking a serious look at other candidates.

Stability isn’t a word fans would use as a descriptor of the Suns’ organization. At least not right now. And not since May 2023 when they decided to move on from Monty Williams and the culture he instilled when he first arrived in the Valley.

Dating back to 2015, the organization hasn’t provided the greatest example of how to set up its superstar (and face of the franchise) for success.

The Suns’ next head coach, when hired, will be Devin Booker’s eighth coach in 11 NBA seasons. Yes, you read that correctly. Let’s go through the list:

2015-16: Jeff Hornacek and Earl Watson

2016-17: Earl Watson

2017-18: Jay Triano

2018-19: Igor Kokoskov

2019-20: Monty Williams

2020-21: Monty Williams

2021-22: Monty Williams

2022-23: Monty Williams

2023-24: Frank Vogel

2024-25: Mike Budenholzer

No NBA player has ever been through this much turmoil in their first decade in the league. That’s 10 seasons with mostly a revolving door of head coaches, new assistants, philosophies, and stylistic preferences.

One would be justified in questioning why Booker even wants to stay in Phoenix. Every time he gets on board with the franchise’s new direction and a new coach’s voice, things get flipped upside down.

But make no mistake – Booker, along with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, also deserve a bulk of the blame for this season going off the rails. For one reason or another, none of them consistently played at the level required of a top-heavy roster that pays three stars over $50 million each.

Much like every situation in sports, the problems in Phoenix extend beyond the coaching staff. It’s never just the coach. They are just the easiest to replace in most instances, especially with the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement making it harder for teams to navigate trades if they’re over the second tax apron.

More changes are likely coming for the Suns. Whether that means General Manager James Jones is on the way out, or Ishbia considers overhauling the roster by hitting the reset button and trading Booker and Durant to maximize his return, the specifics remain to be seen.

The Suns are in for a chaotic summer, one way or another.

Who could the Suns prioritize for their next head coach?

First things first – the Suns need to look for a younger, fresher mind to lead their team through these murky waters.

With the franchise’s situation appearing bleak right now – deprived of draft capital and quality assets to trade – they need to focus on the one thing they can control in the future.

They find themselves in a similar spot to 2019, when Monty Williams entered the fold and made significant changes to their style, gameplan, and non-negotiables that established a healthy culture.

Williams absolutely delivered in one department. He brought the ‘winning habits’ to the table. The same ones Booker often talks about when he’s asked to describe why this season turned sour.

Phoenix could, in theory, turn to a familiar face that was part of the Suns’ NBA Finals run in 2021.

Willie Green, currently the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans, could be a fantastic fit if the stars aligned. It would be tough to execute and require some luck, however.

The 43-year-old coach is under a contract extension with the Pelicans, the terms of which haven’t been made public. Considering New Orleans just fired its VP of Basketball Operations, David Griffin, one has to wonder if owner Gayle Benson is on the verge of making wholesale changes. If ownership brings in a new leader, that person could decide on a coaching shift. That’s a common thing you see in these scenarios.

Ishbia has remained adamant that Booker isn’t going anywhere. Assuming that sentiment rings true and Booker is on board staying in Phoenix, Green makes the most sense as the next coaching target. The two of them formed a deep connection during Green’s two years as a Suns assistant from 2019 to 2021. Green is also known as one of the most adaptive coaches in the league, and one that isn’t afraid to hold his players accountable.

If chasing Green isn’t a plausible route, Phoenix should seriously remain patient. It would be a hard sell to Ishbia to mimic Oklahoma City, a franchise that promoted assistant Mark Daigneault in 2020, despite knowing he didn’t have head coaching experience. But the results speak loudly.

The Thunder had a vision for the future, fully aware they would take their share of beatings and rough seasons until the right pieces were in place. Now, OKC has been the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the past two seasons.

The NBA is littered with tons of high-caliber assistants that made their bones in the film room, or helping lead a G-League team to success. These coaches are often younger, less stubborn, and more likely to implement modern principles into their offensive and defensive systems.

There just isn’t a lot of confidence Ishbia and the Suns would travel down that path, especially given their excessive payroll and desire to expedite the process.

Perhaps the mentality, and the priorities, need to change.