The Phoenix Suns reportedly have five finalists for their vacant head-coaching position, and there’s no shortage of diversity among the candidates.
The team is considering former Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers, former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel, Sacramento Kings assistant coach Jordi Fernandez and Suns assistant coach Kevin Young. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic,
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported earlier Tuesday that Rivers and Nurse were being considered for the Phoenix job, while Nurse is also a candidate for Rivers’ old Sixers job and the Milwaukee Bucks opening.
Which direction will the sun go after Monty Williams?
That Phoenix group includes three head coaches who have won NBA championships, not a rarity in this coaching cycle, and two coaches with no head coaching experience, including an in-house option with Young.
The Suns’ job is wide open when the team surprisingly fired Montee Williams after a rocky season, which left the team dealing with injuries and acquiring Kevin Durant in exchange for their depth and available draft picks. Any coach he hires will be expected to immediately compete for championships with a win-now roster.
Rivers and Nurse were both fired last month after disappointing playoff exits, while Vogel took a year off after being fired by the Lakers last year.
Fernandez, Mike Brown’s associate head coach in Sacramento, joined the Kings for his last off-season after six seasons with Michael Malone and the Denver Nuggets. Young joined Williams’ coaching staff in 2020 and was promoted to associate head coach last year.
