Two years ago, the Phoenix Suns began the new era of the franchise by hiring Boston Celtics assistant general manager Ryan McDonough as GM and former Suns player/John Stockton sidekick Jeff Hornacek as head coach.
One great year and one…less-than-great year later, Hornacek is entering the final year of his contract. The Suns have not offered Hornacek a contract extension or exercised their 2016-17 option. As of now, there’s no information that suggests a change in the situation.
Furthermore, there were rumors that the Suns would lose Hornacek to his alma mater, Iowa State, when the school had a coaching vacancy. Hornacek denied the rumors, and reportedly turned down an interview with the school.
With the report that Jeff Hornacek turned down a meeting with Iowa State, can all the speculation finally stop?http://t.co/gIJUuxm00M
— Valley of the Suns (@ValleyoftheSuns) June 4, 2015
Now, the media says things, but rumors like this tend not to be based on nothing (e.g. every “star player wants to be traded” rumor ever).
So what’s going on? Are the Suns just keeping their options open? Is there a rift between Hornacek and the front office? Are the Suns looking for a scapegoat in case this season goes south?
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Those are questions for insiders with “sources,” which I am not. I can’t answer those questions. However, I can speculate about them, offer some thoughts on Hornacek’s job performance in Phoenix, and talk about how he could and should fit in with the organization going forward.
Hornacek’s basic coaching resume is really mixed. His first year featured a team that played a great style, had great chemistry and won a lot of games. His second year was marked by less quality basketball, several personnel problems and a nine-win backslide.
Neither all the good of year one nor all the bad of year two fall on him. The front office also made some moves that, in retrospect, either went surprisingly well or didn’t work at all.
@tt_sports Thanks, Troy. I hope the sword doesn't fall on Hornacek. Seems like some front office gambles gone bad.
— Michael Dunlap (@DunlapSports) March 3, 2015
However, there’s an argument to be made that Hornacek may have made some less-than-stellar tactical decisions. Since I wasn’t in the room, I don’t know who had the brilliant idea to play Isaiah Thomas, Eric Bledsoe, and Goran Dragic together. All I know is that ended up with a 6’3″, not-super-athletic Goran Dragic guarding small forwards, which just seems like a bad idea and proved to be so, leaving Dragic vehemently pissed off.
Sir Charles In Charge
That example is one of a handful of things that were or are wrong with the Suns. It’s hard to say whether Hornacek’s approach to coaching is flawed or whether he just doesn’t have the right combination of players.
A good example of that is Phoenix’s weak ball movement. The Suns were 27th in team assists per game, and last in percentage of field goals that were assisted. A team running two point guards and a really good passer like Markieff Morris should do better than that, right?
The Suns fall into one-on-one ball a little more than their talent justifies. They also tend to stand around on isolation plays when a teammate gets the ball.
Here’s a Morris isolation. Notice how once he sets his eyes on scoring, nobody moves. Tyson Chandler sets a screen and kind of boxes out, but there’s no motion of the ball and the Suns players seem to know there won’t be.
It works in this one play, but it is a troubling example of the kind of unsuccessful basketball the Suns sometimes play. Isolation plays are fine, but there needs to be some effort put into having other action on the floor. Look at Al Horford in a similar spot. Guys around him are still cutting and moving because they think they have a chance at getting the ball.
The Hawks are a good example of what the Suns should aspire to be. They don’t have the talent of the Spurs or Warriors, but they win because the way they run their offense extracts every bit of talent from every player on the floor. The Suns haven’t found that balance.
The Suns also play at a pace a little faster than the team may be capable of playing. They were third in pace last season. They also led the league in field goals attempted “very early”in the shot clock (22-18 seconds) despite being mediocre in shooting in those situations, per NBA.com.
Look, I grew up on Seven Seconds Or Less, but I think the Suns and Hornacek have to decide what they want to be. Right now, they play with a fast pace and insufficiently organized ball movement. They were 28th in team assist-turnover ratio last season.
That would be the one relevant question about Hornacek as a tactical coach. Last season took him out of the identity he was establishing and he didn’t adapt. Now his roster is different, and the question is whether he can find the right nuanced play style that plays with pace and moves the ball effectively.
Again, maybe this isn’t a coach thing. Maybe the players the Suns have just aren’t right. The point is that last season, something fundamentally didn’t work.
Hornacek is still comfortably an above average coach in the league. Much like how the Suns looked better than they actually were in 2013-14 and worse than they were in 2014-15, the same is true for Hornacek. He may not be a perennial Coach of the Year candidate, but he also isn’t some guy who can’t control a young locker room or run an effective offense.
He should certainly not be fired, and he should definitely get a contract extension. However, if things don’t work for another year, the temperature of the seat will likely get hotter.
Next: 5 Steps To Markieff Morris Redeeming Himself