The Phoenix Suns have a head-coaching vacancy once again, but it may not be open for long.
Phoenix fired Frank Vogel after just one season as head coach, the team announced on Thursday. The decision came after the No. 6-seeded Suns were swept by the No. 3 Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
“After a thoughtful review of the season, we concluded that we needed a different head coach for our team,” Suns president of basketball operations James Jones said in a statement. “We appreciate Frank’s hard work and commitment.”
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Phoenix is targeting Mike Budenholzer, who led the Milwaukee Bucks past the Suns in the 2021 Finals, to replace Vogel. Talks between Budenholzer and the Suns are expected to move quickly, per Wojnarowski.
Budenholzer, a two-time Coach of the Year winner, boasts a career record of 484-317 with nine playoff appearances in 10 seasons. Budenholzer, who last coached with Milwaukee in the 2022-23 season, has also been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers‘ opening. Los Angeles fired Darvin Ham last week following a two-year stint.
The Suns brought in Vogel, who coached the Lakers to a title in 2020, on a reported five-year, $31 million deal last offseason to replace Monty Williams. Phoenix then went out and acquired three-time All-Star Bradley Beal to form a Big Three along with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
But the star-studded Suns didn’t come close to reaching their championship aspirations. They finished sixth in the Western Conference at 49-33 as Beal missed 29 regular-season games, Booker missed 14 and Durant missed seven. Phoenix was then swept out of the playoffs by Minnesota, with three of the four first-round losses coming by double figures.
The Suns’ ugly playoff exit has sparked speculation over whether their newly-formed, though expensive, Big Three could be broken up this offseason. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported earlier this week that Phoenix intends to keep the trio together.
“We are here to win a championship and last season was way below our expectations,” Jones continued in his statement. “We will continue to evaluate our operation and make the necessary changes to reach our championship-caliber goals. We all take accountability, and it’s my job, along with [CEO Josh Bartelstein] and ownership, to build a championship team.”
The Serbian center won the 2023-24 NBA MVP award, marking his third in the last four seasons.
