The Phoenix Suns have already trimmed down their coaching candidates to eight, NBA insider Chris Haynes reported on Sunday.
The eight candidates who made it to the second round of interviews are Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Sean Sweeney, Suns assistant coach David Fizdale, New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego, Cleveland Cavaliers associate head coach Johnnie Bryant and assistant Jordan Ott, Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Steve Hetzel, Minnesota Timberwolves lead assistant Micah Nori and Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach Dave Bliss.
Only two of the candidates have previous head coaching experience: Fizdale, 50, and Borrego, 47.
It’s a big departure from the Suns’ previous two coaching hires — champion coaches Joe Vogel and Mike Budenholzer — under new owner Mat Ishbia.
“This is a young batch of [coaching candidates],” Haynes said. “Why so young? Why so inexperienced?”
Part of the Sun’s coaching search guidelines, according to Haynes, is a coach that has youthful exuberance, who can come in with a lot of energy and connect with today’s young NBA players.
At the helm of this extensive coaching search is the Suns’ new general manager Brian Gregory, who has two decades of coaching experience in the NBA but is relatively new as a league executive.
Yet Ishbia, whom Gregory coached as a walk-on in Michigan, entrusted him with the future of the franchise after two disappointing seasons with their Big 3 experiment.
“Brian has been a valuable member of our front office, playing an integral role in drafting and developing our young players,” Ishbia said in a statement after he promoted Gregory to become his team’s lead decision-maker. “I am excited for him to step into the role of general manager. He is a brilliant basketball mind, and he will transform and elevate our team.”
Suns Moving on From Big 3 Model
The Suns looking for youth in their coaching search is in line with the team’s new philosophy.
Haynes earlier reported that the Suns are moving on from their failed Big 3 experiment despite bankrolling the most expensive roster led by Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
“One thing that I was told is that the Suns want to transition,” Haynes said on “Haynes’ Briefs” Friday, April 18. “They want to move away from the model that they’ve been going after for the previous two years of accumulating star talent, star players and then trying to see if it can mesh on the court. They want to move away from that and they are going to move away from that.
“So, the purpose right now and the goal moving into next season is to accumulate defensive-minded tough players. They want to play a defensive-minded, grind-it-out type of game. They want to have a product on a court that fans can appreciate.”
Kevin Durant’s Future
A young coach means the Suns are not looking to contend right away, which does not align with Durant, who is approaching the twilight of his career.
In the days leading to the February deadline, the Suns entertained trade talks involving Durant. They could revisit that this summer, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported in April following the Suns’ early exit.
“Phoenix is expected to engage in trade conversations involving Durant and will have discussions on the future of Beal, according to sources. Multiple teams will seriously pursue Durant, who finished another stellar season, and the franchise is expected to work with Durant and his business partner and Boardroom CEO Rich Kleiman on the next landing spot for the future Hall of Famer,” Charania wrote.
The next Suns coach will guide a new, younger roster built around Booker, whom Ishbia declared untouchable.
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