With the Phoenix Suns reportedly planning to bring in Mike Budenholzer as the team’s next head coach after dismissing Frank Vogel yesterday, ESPN’s Mike Wilbon says the team has bigger problems than whoever is the coach.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“(Legendary coach) Red Auerbach wouldn’t solve their biggest problems. Phil Jackson wouldn’t solve their biggest problems. Pat Riley wouldn’t solve their biggest problems,” Wilbon said on NBA Today. “Their roster is flawed. Fatally flawed. They don’t have the pieces. This is what happened all year. People want to sit around … and people want to blame one of these guys, or two or three. No, they don’t have a person to run and organize that team in the moments that matter most in games, fourth quarter and crunch time. Don’t have it. Not on the roster.”
Coming off a first-round sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Suns are projected to have the highest payroll in the NBA next season at $209 million and will be severely limited due to the league’s second tax apron rules, which they would land over. The second-apron line is projected to be $190 million next season.
In this threshold, Phoenix is unable to sign free agents outside of the Suns to anything other than veteran minimum contracts. In terms of trades, the Suns will not be able to take in more salary than they send out, include cash in deals, aggregate contracts or use a preexisting trade exception.
“Budenholzer, now, if he comes in and they make a substantive change, I’m not talking about subtle changes. I’m not talking about end of the bench or even depth,” Wilbon said. “I’m talking about primary roster alteration. Can they do that? How do they do it? They have to trade one of (Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal), and I know which one I have in mind, to alter what is going on with the Suns. That is not just going to be bringing a new head coach in.”
Budenholzer, 54, coached the Bucks to their 2021 NBA Finals win over the Suns. He has been out of coaching for a year after five seasons (2018-2023) with the Bucks, in which he finished with a 271-120 record (.639 winning percentage). Budenholzer, the NBA Coach of the Year in 2014-15 and 2018-19, also won four championships as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs from 1996-2003.
Combined, Budenholzer has a 484-317 record as a head coach, which gives him the fifth-highest win percentage by a coach (min. 800 games). He is also 20th all-time in playoff wins, going 56-48 in the postseason.
Highest win percentage by a head coach (minimum 800 games):
.704 — Phil Jackson
.661 — Red Auerbach
.636 — Pat Riley
.628 — Gregg Popovich
.604 — Mike BudenholzerElite company. pic.twitter.com/D8pVyjus36
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 10, 2024
Budeholzer is an Arizona native, growing up a Suns fan in Holbrook, Arizona. His father coached basketball at Holbrook High School for 25 years, won a state championship in 1971 and is in the Arizona Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
“As terrific as (Budenholzer) is … this is a players’ league,” Wilbon added. “You have to have somebody on that team who’s going to run it and organize it at the times that matter most in the game. They don’t have that.”
"Their roster is flawed. Fatally flawed." ???? @RealMikeWilbon says the Suns need to trade one of KD, Book or Beal to fix their problems ???? pic.twitter.com/zyf3WcwGdy
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 10, 2024
Per Spotrac, Durant will be making $51.2 million next season with an additional year on his contract after that, Beal will be earning $50.2 million on the third year of a five-year deal and Booker is set to make an estimated $49.4 million on the second season of a four-year extension. Additionally, Jusuf Nurkić is locked up for two more seasons after this one and will earn $18.1 million next year. Grayson Allen will be on the first season of a four-year, $70 million extension signed three weeks ago.
Beal’s no-trade clause carried over from when the Suns acquired him from the Washington Wizards, so he has the power to veto any trade.
Outside the starting lineup, Nassir Little is set to make $6.75 million on the second year of his four-year rookie extension next season. David Roddy is owed $2.9 million on the third of a four-year rookie deal next year (not much more than a veteran minimum contract).
The Suns have Royce O’Neale’s bird rights if they want to sign him to a contact extension, while Eric Gordon, Josh Okogie, Drew Eubanks and Damion Lee also all have player options to extend their veteran minimum deals to next season.
Even with all of this, owner Mat Ishbia said the Suns were in “great position” in his end-of-season press conference last week.
“The house is not on fire. We’re in great position” – #Suns owner Mat Ishbia. Thoughts? ????
????: @Brendan_Mau pic.twitter.com/PIGhwM2vle
— Burn City Suns Talk ????️ (@BurnCitySuns) May 2, 2024
When the Suns dismissed Vogel yesterday, Suns President of Basketball Operations and general manager James Jones said the following in a statement:
“We are here to win a championship and last season was way below our expectations. We will continue to evaluate our operation and make the necessary changes to reach our championship-caliber goals. We all take accountability, and it’s my job, along with (CEO) Josh (Bartelstein) and ownership, to build a championship team.”
There is no doubt the Suns have a lot of questions still remaining and will have them no matter what they do heading into next season because of how disappointing this year was.
Shams: Suns ‘plan to hire’ Mike Budenholzer as franchise’s next coach
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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
