Phoenix Suns Fired Head Coach Mike Budenholzer

For the fourth time in as many seasons the Suns will be on a coaching search. Today the Phoenix Suns fired head coach Mike Budenholzer. With the NBA regular basketball season having come to a close yesterday, this is the time for the firings to begin. And the Suns wasted no time in making the change. In fact their statement on the release of Budenholzer was succinct and even failed to mention Budenholzer at all. There was no thanks for his efforts, no commendation for the work he had done. Here is their statement:

“Competing at the highest level remains our goal, and we failed to meet expectations this season. Our fans deserve better. Change is needed.”

So that’s it in a nutshell, pretty cut and dried. It seems that even they are tired of the hiring and firing process themselves. Perhaps they may need to allow a coach more than one season to make the needed change. That’s all Budenholzer got. The terminations were neatly summed up by CBS Sports, they wrote:

“In 2023, mere months after Matt Ishbia took over the team, they fired Monty Williams following a second-round exit. Last season, they hired Frank Vogel as a replacement only to fire him following a first-round sweep.” Now Budenholzer is the latest casualty of the rinse and repeat cycle. But despite the repetitive coaching search three writers from the Athletic formed an opinion on what got Budenholzer the boot. Doug Haller, Sam Amick, and Fred Katz fingered one big issue as a primary catalyst: his relationship with Suns superstar Devin Booker.

“While the Suns’ underwhelming season was at the root of the decision, team sources say Budenholzer’s inability to manage his locker room had everything to do with the decision,” the three reporters wrote for The Athletic. “More specifically, his contentious relationship with four-time All-Star and franchise centerpiece Devin Booker, as well as several other key players, was seen internally as a major issue. The Suns, who are widely expected to trade Kevin Durant this summer, are still planning on building around the 28-year-old Booker and didn’t see a productive path forward with Budenholzer at the helm.”

Phoenix Suns Fired Head Coach Mike Budenholzer

So what does the release of Budenholzer mean for the team’s top players. Well according to ESPN Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania, everything revolves around their premier player Devin Booker. He remains the foundation of everything the Suns are doing, he’s not going anywhere. Charania also confirmed the disconnect Budenholzer had not only with Booker but with the entire roster. He surmised that the release of the coach is just the beginning of multiple changes that will occur. One of those changes will be working on a trade for Kevin Durant.

The Suns went from being the sixth seed in the playoffs last season to finishing with a 36-46 record this season. For a team with the highest payroll in the league, that result is unacceptable. Now that the coach is gone there will be other shakeups besides the trading of Durant. We’ll have to see how it all works out over the next several weeks.

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