After the Suns made a head coaching change this spring, dismissing Frank Vogel and hiring Mike Budenholzer, the team had been expected to fully revamp its coaching staff. However, one of Vogel’s top assistants will remain with the organization in a “prominent” role on Budenholzer’s staff, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that David Fizdale is returning to Phoenix.
Fizdale is a longtime NBA assistant who has also had multiple stints as a head coach. He spent time on the Warriors’ and Hawks’ staffs from 2003-08 before working as an assistant under Erik Spoelstra from 2008-16 in Miami, where he won a pair of championships with the Heat.
Fizdale was subsequently hired as the Grizzlies’ head coach in 2016, but lasted just one full season in Memphis before being fired during the first half of the 2017/18 season. His next head coaching stint followed the same trajectory, as he spent one full season with the Knicks in ’18/19 before being let go 22 games into his second season.
Fizdale worked under Vogel with the Lakers in 2021/22, but left the team when Vogel was dismissed in ’22 and spent the ’22/23 season in Utah’s front office. When Vogel was hired by the Suns in 2023/24, Fizdale rejoined him as an assistant, but Vogel’s stint in Phoenix lasted just a single season, leaving Fizdale’s future with the franchise uncertain.
Reports at the time of Budenholzer’s hiring indicated that Fizdale would be offered a position in the Suns’ front office but that he wasn’t expected to accept that offer. Fizdale also reportedly received interest from the Bulls as they revamped Billy Donovan‘s staff, but it seems he has opted to remain on the sidelines in Phoenix under a new head coach.
A report earlier this week stated that Phoenix was hiring former Bucks assistant Vince Legarza but that the team was having a “tough time” filling out Budenholzer’s new coaching staff.