The Phoenix Suns have reportedly landed their first assistant as part of new head coach Mike Budenholzer’s staff.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!According to AZ Central’s Duane Rankin, “The Phoenix Suns have landed Vince Legarza to work under new head coach Mike Budenholzer, sources inform The Arizona Republic.”
Legarza was an assistant coach in Budenholzer’s last season with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2022-23, but wasn’t retained for the 2023-24 season under Adrian Griffin.
Leagarza started his coaching career as a player development coach under Budenholzer in his first two head coaching seasons with the Atlanta Hawks in 2013-2015.
Following this stint, Legarza was a player development coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2015-2018 and an assistant with the Utah Jazz from 2018-2022.
Legarza is 6-foot-9 and played four seasons of college basketball at Miami (Ohio) from 2009-2013.
Budenholzer was officially hired by the Suns on May 11 and signed a five-year, $50-plus million contract. His hiring came only two days after the team fired Frank Vogel after just one season with the team.
Rankin adds: “The Suns didn’t retain any assistants from Vogel’s staff and are having a tough time filling out a new coaching staff, sources have informed The Republic. They’re still paying Vogel as he signed a five-year deal with the Suns for $31 million last summer.”
The most notable of Budenholzer’s former assistants who is now available is Darvin Ham. Ham was fired after two seasons as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this month.
Ham was an assistant coach for Budenholzer on both the Atlanta Hawks (2013-2018) and Bucks (2018-2022).
Stay tuned for more updates surrounding Budenholzer’s staff.
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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
