The Phoenix Suns have officially let the first domino in an off-season that is sure to be full of changes fall on Monday by firing first-year head coach Mike Budenholzer.
Budenholzer went 36-46 in his lone season on the job after being hired to overhaul the offensive system that was previously in place and to restore accountability in the building - those ideas did not necessarily come to fruition and it felt like the writing was on the wall for some weeks prior to the season finale on Sunday.
Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reported that the questions surrounding Budenholzer's job security truly started to pick up steam after a loss in a game following the All-Star break.
"Sources informed Arizona Republic rumblings about Mike Budenholzer's future in Phoenix really took flight after the loss to New Orleans, on Feb. 27, at home."
Suns insider John Gambadoro went into further detail behind the thought process of the firing, which was fairly straightforward.
From Gambadoro:
"The Phoenix Suns fired Mike Budenholzer for several reasons. The team did not compete. There was no energy. The team didn't like each other. His relationship with players was not good. They were awful defensively. Just overall performance. Overall it was considered "A bad fit."
The "bad fit" was apparent for much of the season, as certain principles such as increased three-point volume did carry over, but the frequent defensive lapses despite carrying better defensive personnel and relatively similar offensive metrics compared to the previous year signified that the team was out of sync from the jump.
Gambadoro also ruled out fired Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone and Memphis Grizzlies head man Taylor Jenkins as potential targets to be the next leader of the Suns locker room - which indicates that the franchise will look to go in a different direction compared to previous hires.
Expect Johnnie Bryant of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Sam Cassell of the Boston Celtics, Jared Dudley of the Dallas Mavericks, and potentially more assistants to be in the fold to become the head man in Phoenix.
The head coach search could take weeks this time around due to the current candidate pool, as the majority of the rising assistant coaches are currently embarking on a playoff run - in the meantime, it would not be shocking to see an overhaul in the front office as well - with James Jones facing an expiring contract and Josh Bartelstein facing scrutiny for his role in past unpopular trades.
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