6 potential candidates to replace Frank Vogel as Phoenix Suns head coach

For the second straight year, and the sixth time in the last nine years, the Phoenix Suns need a new head coach. After Thursday’s news that the Suns would be parting ways with coach Frank Vogel, the hunt for his replacement is officially on.

“As we said at the press conference on May 1, team leadership including myself, Josh Bartelstein, and ownership would be looking across basketball operations to determine what changes needed to be made,” general manager James Jones said in a statement. “After a thoughtful review of the season, we concluded that we needed a different head coach for our team. We appreciate Frank’s hard work and commitment. 

“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 Josh and ownership, to build a championship team.”

In some respects, Vogel was a scapegoat of the Suns’ underwhelming 2023-24 campaign, which wound up being the most disappointing season in franchise history and ended in a first-round playoff sweep. Injuries, chemistry and leadership all played a role in Phoenix’s inability to put it all together in Year 1, especially for a roster full of new faces under a new coaching staff. But no matter what, summer vacation arrived much sooner than expected, bringing a myriad of offseason questions along with it.

Running it back completely and relying solely on continuity would’ve been a hard decision to make, given how disjointed the Suns looked during their four playoff losses and how disconnected they periodically seemed to be throughout the year. Someone had to take the fall for that, and because the roster needs continuity and lacks a ton of options to change anyway, Vogel wound up getting the axe.

A recent report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Doug Haller suggested Vogel had lost the locker room, or at least a portion of it. If players were reportedly rolling their eyes or stifling laughter at their coach ripping into them — in a game where they trailed 35-4 at one point — it’s hard to come back from that and re-establish credibility.

The Suns may need a sterner hand with their Big 3, someone who’s able to hold everyone accountable, and someone who can upgrade this top-10 offense into the elite territory it needs to occupy. The question is who can check all (or most) of those boxes? Here are a few candidates that might make sense in Phoenix, in no particular order.

Honorable Mentions: Jay Wright, David Fizdale, David Vanterpool, Sam Cassell, Steve Kerr, Kenny Atkinson, David Adelman, Charles Lee, Chris Quinn, Jay Larranaga

Tyronn Lue

It’s been eight years since he coached the Cleveland Cavaliers to a championship, but Ty Lue would probably be the best-case scenario for Phoenix.

The Suns’ interest in Lue last year was no secret last year, when they were going through this same process to replace Monty Williams. Lue is well known for his tactical mind and ability to get the most out of injury-riddled rosters, and both Devin Booker and Kevin Durant have publicly expressed their admiration for Lue’s basketball IQ and coaching abilities in the past.

However, Lue is still under contract with the LA Clippers, and despite their first-round playoff exit, they will reportedly offer him the bag in order to secure a multi-year contract extension:

The natural followup question is whether Lue still wants to be there. The Clippers haven’t been able to keep Kawhi Leoanrd and Paul George healthy enough to make a legitimate run at a title, with their superstar duo playing a combined two playoff games over the last three years, and only 26 playoff games total over their five seasons in LA.

Now, George (34 years old) and James Harden (34 years old) are both seeking new paydays as free agents this summer. If the Clippers are unwilling to shell out max money to keep an aging trio of stars who can’t stay healthy, if they lose one or two of those guys in free agency, or if they decide to blow it up entirely and rebuild, does Lue want to commit for the long haul?

At the end of the day, money talks, and securing a long-term deal to stay in LA probably makes the most sense for Lue. Suns fans shouldn’t hold their breath here, but if Lue somehow becomes available, expect Phoenix to throw its hat in the ring…along with the Los Angeles Lakers and basically any other team with a head coaching vacancy.

Becky Hammon

Let’s make this very clear: Becky Hammon doesn’t have to go anywhere. The Las Vegas Aces coach is coming off back-to-back WNBA titles, and although the Toronto Raptors received permission to interview her for their head coaching vacancy last year, Hammon has made it clear that she won’t just take an NBA job simply for the sake of making history:

Would it be an incredible accomplishment for Hammon to become the first female head coach in NBA history? Absolutely. Will that NBA paycheck hit slightly different? No doubt. But will she leave a great situation with the Aces just for the sake of being able to say she made history? No.

With that being said, there is a case to be made for the Phoenix Suns being the type of job that might be enticing to a first-time NBA head coach. Hammon would get to coach established superstars like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal from day one — something not many coaches in the league get to enjoy at any point in their careers.

As a six-time WNBA All-Star, Hammon knows the game from a player perspective, and she has more than enough experience on an NBA bench after serving as an assistant under Gregg Popovich for eight years. She’s coached the Summer League Spurs to a championship, won two titles in the WNBA in her first two seasons there, and has the respect of players around the league. In terms of accountability, she has the edge and respect to keep even superstars in line.

If she’s open to the idea, Hammon has a track record that’s more than deserving of an interview. Just don’t be surprised if she’s perfectly happy where she’s at, building a dynasty in Vegas.

Chauncey Billups

Chauncey Billups is still currently employed by the Portland Trail Blazers, but there appears to be some buzz that he may be out in Rip City. If that’s the case, expect the Suns to make a run at him.

Aside from Chris Mannix’s report, there have been rumblings about Billups, given his connection with several members of the Suns. He has Kevin Durant’s respect, Devin Booker has always spoken highly of Billups as a fellow Detroit guy, and the feeling is definitely mutual on both fronts.

Billups’ overall coaching record is 81-165 certainly isn’t glamorous, but his situation in Portland quickly went from a team with Damian Lillard to a full-on rebuild through youth. If he finds himself in need of a new gig and has the support of Phoenix’s two best players, don’t rule this one out.

JJ Redick

Redick is undoubtedly the riskiest option on this list, if only for the fact that he has zero NBA coaching experience, either in the head coach’s chair or as an assistant. That could give Mat Ishbia and James Jones some reservation about bringing him in as the guy to lead their Big 3.

There’s no doubt about Redick’s brilliance from an X’s and O’s standpoint. Listen to a single episode of The Old Man and the Three podcast, or his new podcast with LeBron James, and it’s blatantly obvious he understands and thinks the game at a high level.

The biggest question is whether Redick — a 39-year-old former player who retired only three years ago and has played with or against most of the players currently in the league — would be able to command the respect of a locker room that’s largely made up of his former peers. There would need to be a degree of separation there in order to establish himself as an authority figure instead of a former teammate-turned-coach, and Redick would need to be able to tell guys like Durant, Booker and Beal what to do without them disregarding his input.

However, if Redick could hold a locker room accountable with the same fire he displays while calling out his ESPN co-hosts, that No. 1 hazard would quickly melt away, revealing a coach who can walk the line between diagramming the right actions while also understanding the player perspective.

Redick is a top candidate for the Charlotte Hornets job, and perhaps a younger team where he’s not expected to compete for championships right away would be a better initiation into NBA head coaching. But he’s another name the Lakers will be keeping an eye on, and if the Suns are smart, they’ll consider him as well.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case:

Kenny Atkinson

This one could be problematic right off the bat, since it was the Big 3 era that ultimately led to his resignation as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets in 2020. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving reportedly never connected with Kenny Atkinson and did not have interest in playing for him the following season once the Nets were healthy and whole again. That wouldn’t bode well for Durant’s future in Phoenix or the future of the Suns if they completely ignored that and hired Atkinson anyway.

HOWEVER. If Durant no longer wants to be in Phoenix after a disappointing first-round sweep, if the front office is rethinking their Big 3 approach, or if the team believes its window has passed, KD is the only member of the Big 3 that would realistically be traded. The Suns aren’t trading the face of the franchise in Devin Booker, who’s eight years younger than Durant, and they probably aren’t moving Bradley Beal, who’s on a gargantuan contract and possesses a no-trade clause.

In the unlikely scenario that moving Durant becomes the plan, Atkinson would deserve a look.

Of course, those wheels would probably need to be set in motion now, since waiting until the summer to trade Durant and then consider hiring Atkinson as head coach would be impossible. The Suns wouldn’t hire Atkinson and then trade Durant as a result either, so perhaps this is a more unlikely candidate.

With that being said, Atkinson impressed in his final Nets season before the Big 3 arrived, leading a younger Brooklyn team that was supposed to be rebuilding to the playoffs. He’s got a ton of experience on the NBA sidelines as an assistant for the LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors since then, winning a title with the Dubs in 2022. Between that and his time with the Nets, Atkinson knows a thing or two about how to get his teams to play at a fast pace and shoot a lot of 3s — qualities this Phoenix squad desperately needs to start incorporating.

Again, the tricky relationship with Durant makes this highly unlikely, but since you never really know what the offseason will bring, he’s a name that should be on the radar nonetheless.

Mike Budenholzer

Budenholzer feels like a less glamorous option, but two-time Coach of the Year and 2021 NBA champ has proven he can implement his system and find success in multiple stops. After spending nearly two decades under Pop in San Antonio, Budenholzer went on to coach the Atlanta Hawks for four years, leading them to a franchise-record 60 games in 2014-15.

At his next gig with the Milwaukee Bucks, Bud led Giannis Antetokounmpo and company to another 60-win campaign in his first season, then 56 wins, 46 wins in the second COVID-shortened season, 51 wins and 58 wins. The playoff success didn’t always align with how dominant his teams were in the regular season, but he coached a fine series in the 2021 NBA Finals, and he’s won 60 percent of his games in his career as a head coach.

After the topsy-turvy season the Suns just had, having that kind of regular-season stability could be a good thing, and according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, he will indeed be a top candidate in Phoenix’s coaching search:

Bud has proven throughout his career his teams can crank out regular season wins, and so even though the playoffs are all that matter, for a team like Phoenix — desperate to build some chemistry and continuity — that type of foundation could be a very good thing that would steel them for the playoffs.

Budenholzer is no stranger to teams taking a lot of 3s and spreading the floor with shooters, but he’s also got a keen defensive acumen that could help the Suns extract the best out of both ends of the floor. His playoff shortcomings are well-documented, but no coach on this list is perfect, and nearly every fanbase struggles with their coach’s rotations or adjustments at some point.

He’s the most established name on this list, has championship experience, churns out 50-60 win seasons like clockwork and might be able to hold this team’s stars more accountable. Is this really such the underwhelming option that everyone seems to think he is?