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During the Phoenix Suns' end-of-season press conference on Thursday, April 17, the team's owner Mat Ishbia admitted there were several things that "didn't work" that led to the team's "embarrassing" 36-46 season.
That includes hiring Mike Budenholzer as "the wrong coach."
Budenholzer was fired on Monday after just one season, within 24 hours of the Suns' season finale 109-98 loss at Sacramento on Sunday. The Suns dropped nine of their last 10 games, including their season-worst eight straight and failed to make the playoffs.
Budenholzer was fired less than a year after former coach Frank Vogel, who also lasted just one season. Ishbia added that there were "a lot of reasons why" Budenholzer got his walking papers. Those reasons may never be fully revealed.
Budenholzer has the reputation of a hard-nosed, old school coach who never minces his words. That applied to his previous teams in Atlanta, Milwaukee and as an 17-year assistant under his five-time champion mentor in San Antonio, Gregg Popovich. When Budenhozler was introduced last year, he promised to coach the players hard.
Collin Gillespie said late in the season his former Nuggets coach Mike Malone and Budenholzer have similar old school coaching styles, being "tough on his guys" which he liked.
Former Phoenix player Eddie Johnson, also a longtime Suns' color commentator, said Budenholzer's approach may not have worked with every player.
“Any coaching style works, just like any offense could work, if everybody buys into it," Johnson told The Arizona Republic. "So if everyone buys into it and it’s explained well, and it’s a balance between being hard-lined and softness that allows the players to accept it, it’s a different animal.
"It’s not surprising that Collin would say that because Collin is in a space of having to prove himself. It’s different because he’s gonna accept anything as long as playing time comes along with it. A seasoned veteran is not gonna put up with it if he feels like it’s unbalanced," Johnson continued.
Budenholzer was asked about his old school coaching style.
“Yeah, I mean, I don't know what old school, new school is. You're always trying to connect with players, you're always trying to help them be their best, put them in good positions. So I think Mike Malone's won a lot of games, had a lot of success. So everybody has different ways of doing it. We all find our own kind of way and lean into it. So I think Collin's been fortunate, probably, to have both of us,'' Budenholzer said.
Johnson said there probably was more about Budenholzer's coaching style that didn't resonate with many other players.
“I don’t want to be hearing coaches talking about, ‘Oh players today don’t take hard-line coaching,' — no," Johnson said. "It’s how you approach them with it. If you don’t balance it, I don’t care what period of basketball it’s in, it’s not gonna work. And obviously, Bud didn’t balance it. He didn’t do enough on the softer side to be able to do the hard-line stuff, like not talking to Nurkic for weeks.
"That’s not good, not to a veteran. He can probably get away with that with a rookie or a young player because, again, he’s steering for his career. Nurkic isn’t, so you gotta approach him differently.”
Johnson emphasized that NBA players care about minutes and winning.
Budenholzer benched three of his starters during the season, including Jusuf Nurkic, Bradley Beal and Tyus Jones. Gillespie replaced Jones for eight games in the opening lineup toward the season's end. Before Nurkic was traded to Charlotte on Feb. 6, he told The Republic that he and Budenholzer had "no relationship" and Budenholzer didn't speak to him for two months.
Budenholzer, during the season, affirmed why he feels that coaching style works for him.
"You gotta have hard conversations in the league," Budenholzer said. "You gotta be honest. You gotta coach them hard, try and be transparent. That’s the goal. It’s not easy but usually that’s the right thing to do, and probably in life. So, that’s part of coaching hard, yes."
Other alleged acrimonious moments surfaced within the Big 3 dealing with Budenholzer.
“He’s a very tough coach," Beal said after the Spurs' game near the end of the season about Budenholzer. "He’s very demanding. He holds us to a high standard, for sure. So those are all the things that you want. I don’t make those decisions but I think he did a good job.”
That was before NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that Budenholzer wanted him to play like his former top Milwaukee point-of-attack defender Jrue Holiday, which, according to Haynes, Beal took offense to.
Johnson believes that Budenholzer likely lost the Suns’ locker room trust factor before reports surfaced that the face of the franchise, Devin Booker, was told by Budenholzer he was being “too vocal” in team huddles and timeouts. The 10-year veteran Booker is entering the second half of his career and is the Suns’ all-time leading scorer.
Then there were the multiple heated exchanges between Durant and Budenholzer during games.
“You might be able to scream at Collin but you can’t scream at Devin the same way,'' Johnson said.
He likened the coach-player relationship to parenting.
“It’s almost like your parent will scream at you, but you know your parent loves you," Johnson said. "So you’re not gonna go off on your parent. You’ll understand, and as you get older you’ll understand even more. With coaching, it’s the same way."
Johnson used his relationship with the Suns’ late Hall of Fame coach Cotton Fitzsimmons as an example of showing tough love and a fatherly connection beyond the court.
“Cotton used to ride us like no other, especially me," Johnson said. "But you know what? He knew my mother’s name. He knew where I was from. He knew what I loved to do. When I wasn’t feeling well, he was there for me."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns TV analyst Johnson on why Budenholzer's coaching style didn't fit
Continue reading...
That includes hiring Mike Budenholzer as "the wrong coach."
Budenholzer was fired on Monday after just one season, within 24 hours of the Suns' season finale 109-98 loss at Sacramento on Sunday. The Suns dropped nine of their last 10 games, including their season-worst eight straight and failed to make the playoffs.
Budenholzer was fired less than a year after former coach Frank Vogel, who also lasted just one season. Ishbia added that there were "a lot of reasons why" Budenholzer got his walking papers. Those reasons may never be fully revealed.
Budenholzer has the reputation of a hard-nosed, old school coach who never minces his words. That applied to his previous teams in Atlanta, Milwaukee and as an 17-year assistant under his five-time champion mentor in San Antonio, Gregg Popovich. When Budenhozler was introduced last year, he promised to coach the players hard.
Collin Gillespie said late in the season his former Nuggets coach Mike Malone and Budenholzer have similar old school coaching styles, being "tough on his guys" which he liked.
Former Phoenix player Eddie Johnson, also a longtime Suns' color commentator, said Budenholzer's approach may not have worked with every player.
“Any coaching style works, just like any offense could work, if everybody buys into it," Johnson told The Arizona Republic. "So if everyone buys into it and it’s explained well, and it’s a balance between being hard-lined and softness that allows the players to accept it, it’s a different animal.
"It’s not surprising that Collin would say that because Collin is in a space of having to prove himself. It’s different because he’s gonna accept anything as long as playing time comes along with it. A seasoned veteran is not gonna put up with it if he feels like it’s unbalanced," Johnson continued.
Mike Budenholzer's take
Budenholzer was asked about his old school coaching style.
“Yeah, I mean, I don't know what old school, new school is. You're always trying to connect with players, you're always trying to help them be their best, put them in good positions. So I think Mike Malone's won a lot of games, had a lot of success. So everybody has different ways of doing it. We all find our own kind of way and lean into it. So I think Collin's been fortunate, probably, to have both of us,'' Budenholzer said.
Johnson said there probably was more about Budenholzer's coaching style that didn't resonate with many other players.
“I don’t want to be hearing coaches talking about, ‘Oh players today don’t take hard-line coaching,' — no," Johnson said. "It’s how you approach them with it. If you don’t balance it, I don’t care what period of basketball it’s in, it’s not gonna work. And obviously, Bud didn’t balance it. He didn’t do enough on the softer side to be able to do the hard-line stuff, like not talking to Nurkic for weeks.
"That’s not good, not to a veteran. He can probably get away with that with a rookie or a young player because, again, he’s steering for his career. Nurkic isn’t, so you gotta approach him differently.”
Johnson emphasized that NBA players care about minutes and winning.
Budenholzer benched three of his starters during the season, including Jusuf Nurkic, Bradley Beal and Tyus Jones. Gillespie replaced Jones for eight games in the opening lineup toward the season's end. Before Nurkic was traded to Charlotte on Feb. 6, he told The Republic that he and Budenholzer had "no relationship" and Budenholzer didn't speak to him for two months.
Budenholzer, during the season, affirmed why he feels that coaching style works for him.
"You gotta have hard conversations in the league," Budenholzer said. "You gotta be honest. You gotta coach them hard, try and be transparent. That’s the goal. It’s not easy but usually that’s the right thing to do, and probably in life. So, that’s part of coaching hard, yes."
How Budenholzer communicated with the Big 3
Other alleged acrimonious moments surfaced within the Big 3 dealing with Budenholzer.
“He’s a very tough coach," Beal said after the Spurs' game near the end of the season about Budenholzer. "He’s very demanding. He holds us to a high standard, for sure. So those are all the things that you want. I don’t make those decisions but I think he did a good job.”
That was before NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that Budenholzer wanted him to play like his former top Milwaukee point-of-attack defender Jrue Holiday, which, according to Haynes, Beal took offense to.
Johnson believes that Budenholzer likely lost the Suns’ locker room trust factor before reports surfaced that the face of the franchise, Devin Booker, was told by Budenholzer he was being “too vocal” in team huddles and timeouts. The 10-year veteran Booker is entering the second half of his career and is the Suns’ all-time leading scorer.
Then there were the multiple heated exchanges between Durant and Budenholzer during games.
“You might be able to scream at Collin but you can’t scream at Devin the same way,'' Johnson said.
He likened the coach-player relationship to parenting.
“It’s almost like your parent will scream at you, but you know your parent loves you," Johnson said. "So you’re not gonna go off on your parent. You’ll understand, and as you get older you’ll understand even more. With coaching, it’s the same way."
Johnson used his relationship with the Suns’ late Hall of Fame coach Cotton Fitzsimmons as an example of showing tough love and a fatherly connection beyond the court.
“Cotton used to ride us like no other, especially me," Johnson said. "But you know what? He knew my mother’s name. He knew where I was from. He knew what I loved to do. When I wasn’t feeling well, he was there for me."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns TV analyst Johnson on why Budenholzer's coaching style didn't fit
Continue reading...
