Suns expected to hire former NBA champ as HC

The Suns plan to hire Mike Budenholzer as their head coach, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.

His multi-year contract is expected to approach eight figures per year. Suns owner Mat Ishbia and the front office made the swift move on Thursday, announcing the firing of Frank Vogel.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday that Budenholzer was the frontrunner for the job.

Like Vogel, who lasted just one season with Phoenix, Budenholzer brings a championship resume to a roster with three stars — Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal — and a collection of role players, mostly on veteran’s minimum contracts.

“They view Mike Budenholzer as a clear choice that can really come in there and optimize those three guys,” Charania said on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back program. “That’s really where this all hinges at, that the Big 3 being fully maximized and utilized the right way offensively.”

Budenholzer won a championship with the 2020-21 Bucks. He coached the Hawks for five seasons and the Bucks for five seasons, compiling a 484-317 regular season record and a 56-48 record in the postseason.

Phoenix had the league’s third-highest payroll in 2023-24, which is projected to continue growing in 2024-25. Due to being above the second tax apron, Phoenix has very little flexibility to make roster changes, so changing coaches is one of the few ways of shaking things up unless they look to move one of their stars.

Vogel’s top assistant, David Fizdale, is expected to transition to a front office role, Charania adds in another tweet.