2:06 pm: Heat assistant Chris Quinn has also moved onto the second stage of Phoenix’s coaching search, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
1:17 pm: The Suns appear to be narrowing down their search for their fourth head coach in as many seasons.
According to veteran NBA insider Chris Haynes (YouTube video link), new Phoenix general manager Brian Gregory has selected eight candidates to advance to the second round of the process. Previous reporting indicated that the Suns had initial conversations with between 15 and 20 candidates.
As Haynes details, that eight-man group consists of Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney, Suns assistant David Fizdale, Pelicans assistant James Borrego, Cavaliers assistants Johnnie Bryant and Jordan Ott, Nets assistant Steve Hetzel, Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, and Thunder assistant Dave Bliss.
Among these eight finalists, only Fizdale and Borrego have prior head coaching experience on their resumes.
As Haynes notes, Fizdale previously turned down a head coaching offer from former Suns owner, Robert Sarver, instead accepting an ill-fated gig as the head coach of the Knicks, which lasted just over a year. All told, Fizdale has a cumulative 71-134 regular season record during his stints with the Grizzlies and Knicks. He led Memphis to one playoff berth during his debut season as the team’s head coach.
Borrego was the interim head coach in Orlando for the end of the 2014/15 season, and served as the head coach with Charlotte from 2018-22. He boasts a 148-183 overall regular season record and has yet to lead a team to the playoffs.
Reports earlier this spring indicated that Phoenix would likely be targeting a younger head coach following brief stints with Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer at the helm. As Haynes observes, this group of names is consistent with that aim — 51-year-old Nori and 50-year-old Fizdale are the oldest of the eight candidates, most of whom are in their 30s and early 40s.
The Suns brass is hoping their next coach can “build a program from scratch,” according to Haynes, who says the team is emphasizing discipline, accountability, and a philosophical alignment with majority owner Mat Ishbia and the front office. Phoenix is also prioritizing coaching candidates with defensive backgrounds.
A coach who can effectively work with star players is another important consideration, even if the Suns ultimately move on from Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and/or even Devin Booker in the near future. According to Haynes, the head coaching decision may have an impact on how the team moves forward with its stars, since it’s possible Budenholzer’s replacement will have a preexisting relationship with one or more of those players or will hit it off quickly with them.
The expectation is that the Suns will eventually reduce their coaching candidate pool from eight candidates to three finalists, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Will the owner stay out of the GM office and coaching this time is the question?
As a Suns fan it would be infuriating but as a someone who isn’t it’s kind of funny to watch
Suns are one of those teams where the billionaire owner thinks he can buy a championship and meddles in the team.
That is because this owner loves throwing good money away, thinking he can buy a title, he thinks since he went to Michigan St was on the basketball team he knows more than any NBA GM or coach. Now they hire a no experience GM because he said this is the right guy for the job, this owner cannot get out of his own way. Can’t wait for the coaching hire, this has all the makings of a total disaster for this franchise, a no experience owner, along with a no experience GM, with possibly a no experience HC. This owner is going to run this franchise right into the ground.
Narrator: he didn’t.
This is the best job in the NBA. Hopefully you get at least 4 years and you will get fired in less than a year. 3 years sitting on a beach collecting those checks.
What a horrible organization after they got new owners. Pay people to do their jobs and quit trying to make decisions on your own.
Brian Gregory is probably the worst head coach that Georgia Tech has had in the past 75yrs at least. It’s absolutely crazy that he’s a NBA GM.
But hey Steve Kerr is a decent head coach & he was terrible as GM of the Suns so maybe it’ll work in reverse & BG will be a decent GM since he was a terrible head coach.
Worse AD in 75 years too đ. Gregory never shouldâve gone there
Nori coached the TWolves in the playoffs last year after Finch tore his knee ligament.
Borrego coached a terrible roster to the play-in after improving by 10 wins in B2B seasons.
Defense was their main issue and it’s hard to put that on him given the roster he had to work with. Feels inevitable he gets another shot at some point.
At the end of their exhaustive search, I hope that they hire Fizdale. It will be final and fitting end to the initial Ishiba years.
ââThe Suns brass is hoping their next coach can âbuild a program from scratch,â .. the team is emphasizing discipline, accountability…ââ
How is this going to fly with an older team of veterans? Unless youâre going to trade all these guys away thereâs no way this will work. Ridiculous.
If they have this philosophy above, and they hire a coach in their 30s or early 40s, this is going to blow up once again and itâll blow up before Christmas lol.
Gary, good analysis.
IMO, the quality of the list says it all. But announcing it publicly is truly a crowning touch of cluster-fu**ery.
7 guys on that list will be publicly humiliated when the new coach is picked, and then theyâll be grateful for the rest of their lives. Kind of like being rejected by the girl who turned out to have an STD.
Borrego looks like the only guy who may get another HC offer in this lifetime.
Ishbia is already laying the foundation for the inevitable excuses when the Suns embarrass themselves yet again. This time, the gameplan involves giving the HC an impossible task no one could accomplish.
Budenholzer was a good coach …… absolutely had very little to work with, on the defensive end. They should have stuck with him.
Ishbia should push for a 1+1 contract for his next HC. lol.
Honcho- Itâs a playerâs league. Bud thought he could push his superstars. Game over.
Publicly naming the candidates is bush, and is a reflection on why there are no impressive names on the list. No desirable candidate in demand would agree to it.
As expected ⌠a terrible list. You donât throw an assistant coach at Booker (or Durant for that matter). Fizdale?! OMG. There is no tread on those tires.
Ishbia is the new Ted Stepien.
Yup, Fizdale has had his shot ……. I’d take a close look at Quinn and Bliss though – part of longtime good programs.
Jokes about being on the âIshbia 8â list will be making their way around the NBA coaching fraternity for a lifetime.
A lot of great t-shirt possibilities.
7 winners, 1 loser.
If you have 9 candidates, that means you don’t love any of them.
But it doesn’t matter because no one worth having is going to want that terrible job.
So, he doesnât want to pay a hc this time, huh?
Thatâs a great point. Heâs going to hire a young up-and-coming assistant so he doesnât have to pay them 10 million a year lol
So the list was “narrowed” to 9? How many were on it initially?
If I had to guess, it will be Bliss, based on OKC’s defense. But it’s impossible to predict what Gregory values in a HC.
Suns better hire a HC with some NBA Head Coaching experience, you’re dealing with a veteran roster, that has shown no regard for playing defense, no regard for playing up to their so-called star ability, and no regard for respect to a HC. So how they going to hold these players accountable. Until they do I see no future for this franchise.
@desertdawg,
Since (as you said) they didn’t play well for 2 coaches that had won titles, “Head Coaching experience” doesn’t matter as far as this hire goes.
Apparently it’s now time to save $.