Phoenix Suns: Who is Interim Head Coach Jay Triano?
After one game, Phoenix Suns interim coach Jay Triano has brought major changes to the team, but what should fans expect from the Triano this season?
After the long awaited dismissal of former Phoenix Suns head coach Earl Watson, the franchise leaders decided to put assistant Jay Triano as the team’s interim head coach. Triano reinvigorated the franchise with its first win of the season over the Sacramento Kings. With the 78 games left in this season, fans should expect Triano to bring a professional atmosphere and development to this young team.
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Triano is a diverse and well accomplished head coach. In his first stint coaching the Canadian national basketball team, he posted a record of 52-42 from 1998-2004 that included Olympic play in 2000. He since rejoined the national team in 2012 reuniting with former Suns’ great Steve Nash. Canada has recently produced young stars like Andrew Wiggins and Jamal Murray.
As an NBA coach, Triano started as an assistant with his home country’s Toronto Raptors. He took over for Sam Mitchell as interim head coach going 9-4 initially, although the record ending that season was much more expected for an interim coach.
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Age | Lg | Tm | G | W | L | W/L% | W > .500 | Finish | G | W | L | W/L% | Notes |
| 2002-03 | NBA | TOR | Assistant Coach | |||||||||||
| 2003-04 | NBA | TOR | Assistant Coach | |||||||||||
| 2004-05 | NBA | TOR | Assistant Coach | |||||||||||
| 2005-06 | NBA | TOR | Assistant Coach | |||||||||||
| 2006-07 | NBA | TOR | Assistant Coach | |||||||||||
| 2007-08 | NBA | TOR | Assistant Coach | |||||||||||
| 2008-09 | NBA | TOR | 65 | 25 | 40 | .385 | -7.5 | 4 | ||||||
| 2009-10 | NBA | TOR | 82 | 40 | 42 | .488 | -1.0 | 2 | ||||||
| 2010-11 | NBA | TOR | 82 | 22 | 60 | .268 | -19.0 | 5 | ||||||
| 2012-13 | NBA | POR | Assistant Coach | |||||||||||
| 2013-14 | NBA | POR | Assistant Coach | |||||||||||
| 2014-15 | NBA | POR | Assistant Coach | |||||||||||
| 2015-16 | NBA | POR | Assistant Coach | |||||||||||
| 2016-17 | NBA | PHO | Associate Head Coach | |||||||||||
| 2017-18 | NBA | PHO | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.5 | 4 | ||||||
| Career | NBA | 230 | 88 | 142 | .383 | -27.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/24/2017.
Though Triano was not brought back for a fourth season after a terrible third one, it was not completely his fault. It was the season after Chris Bosh had left for the Miami Heat.
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This is not to say that Jay Triano should be the next Phoenix Suns head coach. Triano has close to a full season to convince franchise leadership that he should be the next guy in charge. He does have success coaching as a interim, so fans should be excited to see what he can do this season. It’s almost certain that he can help develop the Suns’ young core much better than Watson did. Overall, he was one of the best interim options the Suns could have found.