Report: Suns down to three finalists for head-coach job

The Suns have narrowed their head coaching search to three finalists, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, who reports that Doc Rivers, Frank Vogel and Kevin Young are still in contention.

Reporting a week ago indicated that Phoenix was advancing to the final stage of its process with five candidates still in play. Since then, one of those candidates – Nick Nurse – has accepted another job, having agreed to coach the Sixers.

Based on Gambadoro’s reporting, it appears the fifth candidate, Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez, is no longer receiving consideration from the Suns. Fernandez is still believed to be in the running for the Raptors’ head coaching vacancy, but Phoenix will apparently decide between Rivers, Vogel and Young.

An assistant coach on Monty Williams‘ staff since 2020, Young reportedly has some support within the organization to receive a promotion to replace Williams, including an endorsement from star guard Devin Booker. However, he’s the only one of Phoenix’s three remaining finalists without any previous head coaching experience.

Rivers has won a total of 1,097 regular season games and 111 playoff contests with four NBA franchises since 1999, while Vogel has coached three teams since 2010, compiling 431 regular season victories and 49 more in the postseason.

According to Gambadoro, the Suns could finalize a head coaching hire later this week.