Mike Budenholzer - Officially Suns new Head Coach

[Phrazbit]

I didn’t say Dario was worthless on offense but he had no lateral quickness and could stay in front of people. He doesn’t impact Giannis going off one bit.

No one slows Giannis down.

Those last 3 games came down to just a few possessions, I don’t think it would have taken a ton to turn the tide. That entire unit played better with him out there.

 

[Mainstreet]

If the Suns look towards another head coach next season, here is some discussion about it on The Burns and Gambo Show.

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[Hoop Head]

I still think if Bud is fired then it'll be Fizdale as our next head coach. He's here already, head coaching experience, liked by players enough since he was kept from Vogel to Budenholzer, Ishbia/FO wanted him retained also, and he obviously wants to be here and turned down a promotion to the office to stay on the sidelines.

I don't know if it'll work. That's just my take.

I think Bud will be handed the reins this off-season as a last ditch effort to fix things. JJ will be let go and Budenholzer will be GM/Coach. Not saying it'll be successful. It'll set us up for a complete reset if it doesn't. Clearing out the front office almost entirely since the JJ regime will be removed completely, as Bud is part of that since he was hired by JJ.

 

[Mainstreet]

I still think if Bud is fired then it'll be Fizdale as our next head coach. He's here already, head coaching experience, liked by players enough since he was kept from Vogel to Budenholzer, Ishbia/FO wanted him retained also, and he obviously wants to be here and turned down a promotion to the office to stay on the sidelines.

I don't know if it'll work. That's just my take.

I think Bud will be handed the reins this off-season as a last ditch effort to fix things. JJ will be let go and Budenholzer will be GM/Coach. Not saying it'll be successful. It'll set us up for a complete reset if it doesn't. Clearing out the front office almost entirely since the JJ regime will be removed completely, as Bud is part of that since he was hired by JJ.

If the Suns are thinking this way, why not give Fizdale the interim head coaching position now and see how it plays out.

 

[Hoop Head]

If the Suns are thinking this way, why not give Fizdale the interim head coaching position now and see how it plays out.

I think if Bud is fired, Fizdale takes the job. I'm not sure if Bud will be fired. A shake up now won't help anyone. If anything it could hurt the Suns view around the league even more, if that's possible. Firing Vogel after a year and bringing in Bud, who doesn't even get a full season, just shines a big spotlight on how dysfunctional things are here. There's already a lamp shining on it the mess, no need to make it brighter.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think if Bud is fired, Fizdale takes the job. I'm not sure if Bud will be fired. A shake up now won't help anyone. If anything it could hurt the Suns view around the league even more, if that's possible. Firing Vogel after a year and bringing in Bud, who doesn't even get a full season, just shines a big spotlight on how dysfunctional things are here. There's already a lamp shining on it the mess, no need to make it brighter.

At this point, everyone knows the Suns are a mess.

The way I look at it, if Fizdale is the plan, let's give him a test drive and see how the team responds.

 

[Hoop Head]

At this point, everyone knows the Suns are a mess.

The way I look at it, if Fizdale is the plan, let's give him a test drive and see how the team responds.

I don't think he's the plan so much as he ends up presented as part of the solution.

We are a mess. There isn't a quick fix and if Budenholzer is fired it isn't because there's a solution elsewhere. We're so far from the head coach making a difference that it doesn't matter who is trotted out. I think the key is making sure we don't poison potential candidates who can help this team. We need a major overhaul before we address the coaching problems. Maybe all can be done together but we also need a new GM and to replace no less than 50% of the roster.

 

[Mainstreet]

I don't think he's the plan so much as he ends up presented as part of the solution.

We are a mess. There isn't a quick fix and if Budenholzer is fired it isn't because there's a solution elsewhere. We're so far from the head coach making a difference that it doesn't matter who is trotted out. I think the key is making sure we don't poison potential candidates who can help this team. We need a major overhaul before we address the coaching problems. Maybe all can be done together but we also need a new GM and to replace no less than 50% of the roster.

Personally, I'd like to see how the Suns would respond to a new coach before the season ends.

It might give us a better idea of where the Suns problems lay, rather than guessing about it.

 

[Covert Rain]

Personally, I'd like to see how the Suns would respond to a new coach before the season ends.

It might give us a better idea of where the Suns problems lay, rather than guessing about it.

That’s pretty low on the totem for me. We have seen 2 coaches in two years appear to underperform. That tells me it’s more about the collection of players.

 

[Mainstreet]

That’s pretty low on the totem for me. We have seen 2 coaches in two years appear to underperform. That tells me it’s more about the collection of players.

What if the coach is the problem and one can find out now?

The Suns could still address the player issue this summer if nothing dramatically changes.

 

[Hoop Head]

Personally, I'd like to see how the Suns would respond to a new coach before the season ends.

It might give us a better idea of where the Suns problems lay, rather than guessing about it.

It seems you're convinced the coach is the problem. I don't think we should fire a second championship winning coach when it's clear the roster is broken. We can't rehire Budenholzer.

If Budenholzer has the chance to build a rotation of his guys then are we closer to competing vs a new coach doing the same? I'd say yes. Not that we're guaranteed to compete, I think we can save ourselves some pain though by riding this out this season. I think we can agree this team is not doing anything this season, even a play in appearance seems to be a long shot now and that is just delaying the inevitable first round thumping. So I am in no hurry to cast out the coach because this season is over for us already.

 

[Mainstreet]

It seems you're convinced the coach is the problem. I don't think we should fire a second championship winning coach when it's clear the roster is broken. We can't rehire Budenholzer.

If Budenholzer has the chance to build a rotation of his guys then are we closer to competing vs a new coach doing the same? I'd say yes. Not that we're guaranteed to compete, I think we can save ourselves some pain though by riding this out this season. I think we can agree this team is not doing anything this season, even a play in appearance seems to be a long shot now and that is just delaying the inevitable first round thumping. So I am in no hurry to cast out the coach because this season is over for us already.

It's more like I don't think Budenholzer is the answer.

If he can't field a winning team with this roster, I think it says something. Also, the Suns have a deplorable defense, not to mention a lack luster offense. The Suns have played well below expectations.

What's to be gained by riding out a bad season with the current head coach when we can learn something about the players with an interim coach. If the Suns made it to the first round with a change, that tells us something right there because the Suns aren't heading anywhere right now. The Suns don't even own their first round pick until 2032, so there is nothing to be gained by losing.

I would gladly take the pain of making the playoffs after what we have already experienced this season.

 

[Hoop Head]

It's more like I don't think Budenholzer is the answer.

If he can't field a winning team with this roster, I think it says something. Also, the Suns have a deplorable defense, not to mention a lack luster offense. The Suns have played well below expectations.

What's to be gained by riding out a bad season with the current head coach when we can learn something about the players with an interim coach. If the Suns made it to the first round with a change, that tells us something right there because the Suns aren't heading anywhere right now. The Suns don't even own their first round pick until 2032, so there is nothing to be gained by losing.

I would gladly take the pain of making the playoffs after what we have already experienced this season.

My biggest fear is a new coach reinvigorating this team and making a first round appearance so ownership decides to tweak what is here and run it back again vs starting the tear down. I'm not saying that will happen or is likely but I feel like this season needs to be play out so there is no denying the inevitable, this team is too flawed to be kept together. By team I mean GM, Coach, and Roster. Two of those three, at minimum, need to be changed this off-season for this team to start moving in the right direction.

These next 2 months will suck, no matter who is on the bench. I think firing Budenholzer allows this front office to deflect criticism from it's own problems. Might as well keep Budenholzer so the season ends with zero doubt that we need big changes. A coaching change now is a bandaid on a bullet hole.

 

[Covert Rain]

What if the coach is the problem and one can find out now?

The Suns could still address the player issue this summer if nothing dramatically changes.

I think we know for a fact the coach isn’t the ONLY problem. It might be part of it but not the only. How many coaches are we going to go through before we look at our GM and the players themselves?

 

[Mainstreet]

My biggest fear is a new coach reinvigorating this team and making a first round appearance so ownership decides to tweak what is here and run it back again vs starting the tear down. I'm not saying that will happen or is likely but I feel like this season needs to be play out so there is no denying the inevitable, this team is too flawed to be kept together. By team I mean GM, Coach, and Roster. Two of those three, at minimum, need to be changed this off-season for this team to start moving in the right direction.

These next 2 months will suck, no matter who is on the bench. I think firing Budenholzer allows this front office to deflect criticism from it's own problems. Might as well keep Budenholzer so the season ends with zero doubt that we need big changes. A coaching change now is a bandaid on a bullet hole.

I think hiring an interim head coach would give the Suns insight on which players to trade and who to keep. IMO, James Jones is already on dangerous ground as the Suns GM. If the Suns have to hire a third head coach, it makes his position even more tenuous.

I'm skeptical if this team can be reinvigorated playing the toughest schedule down the stretch, but if it can, I'd like to see it. That would say something.

I don't see a lot of downside, other than if you think we are giving up on Bud prematurely and losing money on his future salary. Personally, I've seen enough.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think we know for a fact the coach isn’t the ONLY problem. It might be part of it but no the only. How many coaches are we going to go through before we look at our GM and the players themselves?

I think we are going to see a lot of changes in the offseason. The Suns have too many problems to ignore.

It all comes back to the GM and owner. Everything flows down hill, including player personnel.

 

[SirStefan32]

I just can't talk myself into believing that two coaches who've won championships are the problem. I was willing to blame Frank last year, but after this year, I just can't blame the coaches. Both of them are good coaches and while it's possible that sometimes a good coach and a good team might not mix well, I just can't believe that it's likely to happen two times in a row. I've tried to get there, but I just can't. That said, I am very annoyed that we are seeing very little of Dunn and no Oso. With the Suns' financial situation, they need those two youngsters to develop. They are not going to develop on the bench.

 

[Mainstreet]

I just can't talk myself into believing that two coaches who've won championships are the problem. I was willing to blame Frank last year, but after this year, I just can't blame the coaches. Both of them are good coaches and while it's possible that sometimes a good coach and a good team might not mix well, I just can't believe that it's likely to happen two times in a row. I've tried to get there, but I just can't. That said, I am very annoyed that we are seeing very little of Dunn and no Oso. With the Suns' financial situation, they need those two youngsters to develop. They are not going to develop on the bench.

Another way to look at it. Let's say both coaches weren't the primary problem and the Suns mistakenly fired the wrong head coach after having unreasonable expectations last season. This solves the dilemma of the Suns making the same mistake twice in a row. Also, the Suns, supposedly, have a better roster this season.

The Suns were 49-33 under Frank Vogel and finished in 6th place in the West. That's not so bad in retrospect, but it still doesn't solve the roster issue.

This season, the Suns are currently 28-32 with the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA.

It's reasonable to expect Vogel would have done better with this team. He is a better defensive coach and defense has been a huge weakness of the Suns.

With that said, it still doesn't fix the Suns issues, only helps explain it. IMO, they still need to move on from James Jones, Mike Budenholzer and make significant roster changes. The Suns just can't keep running the Durant train back again.

 

[Mainstreet]

Devin Booker talks about the Chris Hayes report.

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[95pro]

KD is the problem, has always been the problem.