Suns rumors: Phoenix narrows head coach candidates list to 8

The Phoenix Suns are still sifting through the rubble of their disastrous 2024-25 season, which culminated in the team missing the playoffs altogether. It was a brief stay in Phoenix for head coach Mike Budenholzer, who lasted just one year in the desert before the team parted ways with him.

Now, the team is searching for its next head coach, and recently, NBA insider Chris Haynes took to YouTube to announce the eight candidates that the Suns have reportedly narrowed the search down to.

Sean Sweeney, David Fizdale, James Borrego, Johnnie Bryant, Jordan Ott, Steve Hetzel, Micah Nori, and Dave Bliss were the names that Haynes mentioned in his report, per Mike Vigil on X, formerly Twitter.

None of these names are necessarily the most high-profile names, although Fizdale has his share of playoff experience as a head coach.

The bigger question for the Suns is what they will do with their roster, the most expensive in the NBA, this offseason. While Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker didn’t play a ton of games together this season, the results weren’t very promising even when they did, making it clear that major changes were needed this offseason for the Suns.

Perhaps the most obvious trade candidate is Durant, who will be 37 years old by the time next season rolls around and figures to have plenty of suitors on the market this summer, even if his value isn’t as high as it would have been a couple of years ago.

Teams like the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat could theoretically be willing to take a chance on Durant in order to bolster their respective miserable halfcourt offenses, which could give the Suns an opportunity to reset things with more future assets in hand.

Still, whatever head coach the Suns choose will have a plethora of problems to sort out.