Suns undergoing more turnover after firing of Frank Vogel

The facelift continues for the Phoenix Suns.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported this week that the Suns are undergoing another big organizational change. Their two assistant general managers, Morgan Cato and Trevor Bukstein, will not be returning to the front office, Scotto says.

This news comes just a couple of weeks after the Suns fired head coach Frank Vogel following a first-round sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves. None of Vogel’s assistant coaches were retained, either, and Phoenix has since hired Mike Budenholzer as its new head coach.

Cato and Bukstein had served as the deputies to Suns GM James Jones in the Phoenix front office. The former had held her position since 2022 while the latter had been in place for a bit longer (since 2018).

The Suns have taken some big swings in recent years, including some that have paid dividends (like the blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant) and some that have yet to do so (such as their move for Bradley Beal). 

The trade for Beal has been particularly ill-fated so far as he missed nearly 30 games to injury this year, causing Phoenix to go without a true starting point guard, and is still owed $161 million through 2027 (with a full no-trade clause).

While those ambitious moves may have been driven more so by Phoenix’s eager new owner Mat Ishbia, the front office has seemingly mishandled other situations in the recent past and will now be undergoing a pretty sizable change heading into next season.