The Phoenix Suns have not yet made a decision on first-year coach Frank Vogel’s future and likely won’t today, according to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!I do not expect any decision on the future of Suns head coach Frank Vogel today.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) May 3, 2024
A big factor in this whole decision could end up coming down to who is available. When the Suns entered the offseason last year having fired Monty Williams, Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue was reported to be at the top of the list. However, he ended up staying in L.A.
Now, Lue will likely be with the Clippers for the long run, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Clippers are currently down 3-2 in their first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks.
ESPN Sources: Clippers planning to pursue a coaching extension for Ty Lue https://t.co/vQNvcVIS50
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 3, 2024
“The LA Clippers are planning to pursue a contract extension with coach Tyronn Lue that’ll allow him to avoid entering the final year of his deal in 2025-2026, sources told ESPN on Friday,” Wojnarowski wrote t0day.
The Los Angeles Lakers dismissed coach Darvin Ham today, and Lue among other candidates, is on the early list of potential candidates.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania detailed a list of potential candidates for the Lakers.
“Sources briefed on the matter say that an extensive search will commence soon, with candidates such as Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, JJ Redick and, if he becomes available, Ty Lue among others.”
Wojnarowski seemed to hint that the Suns would be pursuing Lue too.
“Lue is expected to be a target in the Los Angeles Lakers’ coaching search and perhaps other looming vacancies,” Wojnarowski added.
Suns owner Mat Ishbia said Wednesday in his exit interview that “not one discussion’s even been had, let alone a decision being made” in regards to Vogel and that he was having meetings with the team this week.
Suns general manager James Jones was asked this same day about teams quickly firing coaches despite their team’s success. Here’s what he said on the matter:
“Everything’s a story. Everyone’s impatient. Everyone wants to make decisions and talk about things before they actually evaluate the decisions that are being made. I just think for us, it comes with the territory. And we all know what we sign up for when you come here. And we know what happens when we set high expectations. When you set high expectations and you fall short, people question everything. And for us, we will question everything. But at the end of the day, we’ll have the right answers. And those right answers will help us achieve those high expectations, which is to win a championship. And so we’ll continue to deal with all the things that come with falling short. But I’ll tell you, we’re built for it.”
We will see what decisions the Suns end up making.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
