Earlier tonight, it was reported that Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer withdrew from consideration for the Suns‘ head coach position. It’s unclear why Budenholzer made the decision, but it shrinks the Suns’ pool of candidates. Per tonight’s report, the Suns continue to consider interim coach Jay Triano, David Fizdale, Steve Clifford, Kevin McHale and Frank Vogel.
Before tonight’s news, Scott Bordow of Arizona Central Sports examined all of the potential candidates and their strengths related to the Phoenix organization. One scout told Bordow that the Suns need a “true teacher” to fill the role.
“The Suns need a true teacher,” the scout said. “A patient coach who understands the environment and history, willing to take lumps and teach the game (through) losses … similar to what occurred recently in Philly. Things will not change overnight but through resolve and commitment, it can happen within a reasonable timeframe.”
There is still the rest of the postseason and the offseason for the Suns to decide on their next coach. After tonight, however, their list of candidates is one name shorter.
Check out more Pacific Division notes:
- The Lakers enter this offseason with cap space, young assets, and the attention of the entire basketball world. The team is expected to compete for the services of soon-to-be free agents such as LeBron James and Paul George. Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated dives into the team’s front office and why the team will be heavily watched this summer.
- Bill Oram of the Orange County Register released his report card for the 2017/18 Lakers squad. Oram grades the team’s rookies and veterans on their performance, contribution to the team’s success, and future with the organization.
- There is an unusual sense of stability for the Kings as they enter the offseason, which has not been the case in a long time, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. It does not appear that the team will look for a new head coach or endure another front office overhaul. Therefore, building the roster and continuing development will be the primary goal.
What do the Lakers do if neither Lebron or Paul George come? That is a possible scenario. Do they spend on lesser free agents? Or do they use the cap space to make trades? Or do they keep most of the cap space?
If they miss on both of those guys I think they’ll call on Kawhi
Magic said he’ll wait till the next summer and not spend foolishly, hinting they won’t repeat the mistakes of mozgov and deng just to spend money. Next season will just be another run of the young guys.
If the Lakers miss out on both and can’t trade for a true superstar, they’ll offer big one year contracts and wait until 2019. One year contracts are always great at deadline time.
If the Lakers don’t sign PG13 or LeBron, they’ll probably bring the same squad back next year if they’ll take one year deals and sign Randle to a reasonable long term contract. With the natural growth of players like Lonzo, Kuz, BI, and Josh Hart, along with a season of good health, the Lakers should be in the mix for the 6-8 seed next season