A decision about the future of Suns head coach Frank Vogel will likely be made in the next few days, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.
Owner Mat Ishbia refused to pledge his support for Vogel during a press conference today at Footprint Center. However, he added that rumors about Vogel, players or other team employees shouldn’t be given any weight because in-person discussions haven’t begun.
“We’re going to evaluate everything,” Ishbia told reporters. “… Everything is on the table to evaluate. We have just not started it.”
Vogel, who was hired last June, still has four seasons left on his five-year, $31MM contract so a coaching change would be an expensive move. Vogel claimed over the weekend that he has “full confidence” from Ishbia, but the Suns’ ugly performance while being swept by Minnesota may have changed the team owner’s view.
General manager James Jones, who also spoke to reporters, indicated that management understands Vogel had a challenging task in trying to mold the talents of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, who were in their first full season together.
After an up-and-down start, the Suns finished with a surge and avoided the play-in tournament with a win on the final day of the regular season. They went 49-33 and appeared to be on an upswing before crashing in the playoffs.
“I thought Frank did a great job given the circumstances,” Jones said. “I thought the staff did a great job. I thought the players did a really good job, just not good enough to reach our goals.”
Ishbia also expressed optimism about the direction of the franchise, which he believes is on a path to success despite the postseason setback. He said he can identify with the disappointment from Suns’ fans because he feels the same way.
“I feel like the narrative around [here is] the house is burning, it’s incorrect,” Ishbia said. “… Fans like to look in the future and say, ‘Hey, I really like that 2031 draft pick because maybe that seventh grader is going to be really good and we’re going to draft him and one day he’s going to be a player.'”
Ishbia pointed out that Phoenix will have a first-round pick in five of the next eight drafts, even though some of those are pick swaps. He added that two of those picks are eligible to be included in trades this offseason.
Holmes notes that the Suns already have $209MM committed for next season, which is the largest salary in the NBA and would result in a $116MM tax penalty. They will be well above the second apron for the next three seasons if the core of the team remains together.
Ishbia looked on the bright side of that situation, saying that the starting five is under contract for multiple years, providing continuity no matter what happens with the rest of the roster.
He identified the team’s major issues as injuries and the time it takes for players to get used to being together and said both are “extremely fixable.” He also defended the trades for Durant and Beal, saying both players are worth the price it took to bring them to Phoenix.
“It was never, ‘We’re going to win a championship this year or we got to blow it up,” Ishbia said. “… Championship or bust, this isn’t bust. We’re in a great position. We’re going to be in a great position next year.”
Okay so you have a revolving door in the coaching position. Who you going to hire that’s going to do a great job.., Mike Budenholzer?? Please what has he done?
Some other retread? Fine that’s what you did when you hired Frank Vogel LOL. Good luck finding the right guy. It’s a a lot tougher than it seems on the surface.
So you sign a guy for 3 years, fire him after one, pretty soon you’re paying $30 million bucks a year for guys that are sitting on the couch at home.
I’d Love to hear who they have in mind if they fire Frank. I’m not saying they should keep Frank, but who you going to hire to replace him?
They have to fire him. For no other reason than the players don’t respond to or respect him. A lot of people are saying he lost the locker room during the season, but it doesn’t seem like he ever had it.
If you watched this team game in and game out the biggest problem beyond anything roster wise, or scheme wise was the lack of effort/ interest on a night to night basis. Even in the playoffs games 1-3 when they got punched in face it was time to packed up shop and go home.
Have to hope there is a candidate like Ty Lou (not saying him specifically) comes available that can gain the respect of the players and light a fire under them.
Durant won’t lead and unfortunately because of his reputation and ability every team he goes to other players wants to defer to him in that way. Which creates a vacuum in the leadership department.
We’re in agreement. That much is obvious. But I’m asking,
WHO ARE YOU GOING TO HIRE ? (Not necessarily you, but the Suns.)
Sure a guy like Tyronn lue. Perfect. But.., he’s not available. So who? Everyone says get rid of Frank. Okay great. Who?
Ideally they want Ty Lou I’m sure. After another clippers playoff disappointment Balmer might move in another direction moving into a new stadium. He only had one year left on his contract so they could agree to separate or the suns may try to trade for him. Thats just one scenario.
To be honest we don’t know everyone that is/ will be available and we won’t until after the playoffs.
Okay good point. Perhaps if the Clippers are bounced and I think they will be, Ty Lou becomes available? I never thought of it that way.
I always thought he was pretty secure but hey he might not be?
Most owners don’t let coaches get to the last year of a deal if they are happy with what’s happening.
But like I said we don’t know who will be available, all I know is vogal has to go regardless of any trades or other roster moves. If you are a coach under no circumstances can your team have either effort and heart called in to question on nearly half of the games they play. That’s just flatly unacceptable and it means the team doesn’t listen to or respect him.
*or* just hear me out…trade the problematic players. Some team has to take a stand against these “uncoachable” players. Vogel is a defensive coach and he’s had a lot of success. But I don’t see anyone in a Suns jersey that’s ever played defense.
He looks like a man that fires people with a Vince McMahon voice.
That would be awesome
He looks like a pudgy Paul Simon.
You gotta love an owner that wants to really spend their money going well over in luxury tax… if only more owners were interested in winning instead of profiting!
That makes Ishbia one of the best owners in the league right now.
You don’t often make sense Don but in this case you do.
I’m sorry but this Bozo is part of the problem. His fingerprints are all over this mess. Salary cap he’ll destined never to win a championship.
Trade Vogel for Steve Kerr and Wiggins. (and yes, I’m a Warriors fan).
It’s easier to fire the coach than it is the players as it is often said, and this case will be no different.
The Suns roster was/is a mess, and I don’t see any coach fixing that. Dealing for Beale was one of the biggest trade mistakes made in the NBA over the past decade, based on fit and salary. Durant is a heck of a player and was instrumental in the Warriors winning two titles, but he’s not a leader. I don’t see a leader in that locker room, which is why coaches lose players. Why do the Warriors work? Kerr and Steph have a great relationship, and the players follow Steph. Ditto for most successful teams (Spo and Jimmy, Pop and Duncan, etc.).
When every player is out for themselves, a coach isn’t going to be able to get all of those personalities on the same page.
Could they get a better coach than Frank, sure. Is it going to make that much of a difference, probably not.
They need to fire the GM and trade hella players.
this is the most objective, realistic take.
Not at all surprised he won’t take even a modicum of responsibility, instead sticking to laughable excuses. He’s pissing on the fans and telling them it’s only rain.
He’s off to a great start. Suns fans are crappy so they deserve each other.
such a fair weather fan base that honestly doesn’t know much about the nuance of the game.
Vogel is an excellent coach, and there’s never been any dispute on that among anyone who’s coached at any significant level or understands the process. He has nothing to prove in that regard. Not to the rich kid owner. Not to the 2k’ers in the PHX fanbase (of which, it appears, they comprise the vast majority).
But Vogel should have no complaints. Because, like with most NBA HC firings, this isn’t about coaching. It’s about what’s become an even more essential role that NBA HCs must fill these days. Fall Guy. Even if this role wasn’t formally spelled out in his contract, Vogel knew it was there. The guaranteed money being the first clue. So, he should say all the right things, fall on the sword as they say, because that is his job too, and he’s being very well paid to do it.
On one hand yes, but on the other hand as an NBA coach you are not just there for Xs and Os. You need to build a connection with your players so that they trust you enough to execute your game plan. Divas, difficult personalities — these aren’t excuses. It’s the job description. Those people exist on every team in one form or another.
If you can’t build a relationship, you’ve failed. No matter how good you are at the other stuff.