Mike Budenholzer has withdrawn himself as a candidate for the Phoenix Suns’ head coach position. Bummer. However, Phoenix can still make a solid hire. and should now go all in on hiring Igor Kokoskov.
Mike Budenholzer could have been a great fit in Phoenix and exactly what the youth on the roster needed. However, it’s a no go. This is a business and this kind of stuff happens. The front office now has two choices. They can sit and sulk or they can keep moving and still make a solid hire. For all the same reasons fans were happy about Budenholzer, they should be happy at the thought of Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough bringing in Igor Kokoskov.
Even though he has no real NBA head coaching experience, his resume is more impressive than you’d think once you give it a good look.
He is currently an Assistant Coach for the Utah Jazz where he has helped Head Coach Quin Snyder turn things around. Over the last 17 seasons he has also had stints with five other teams, including some time here. This includes the Detroit Pistons where he was part of a championship-winning team. The other four franchises he passed through are the LA Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic and Phoenix Suns.
Phoenix Suns
In addition to NBA experience, he has international head coaching experience. In fact, his coaching career began with a gruesome car crash right when his promising playing career was truly starting to take off. After coming to grips with the understanding that he wouldn’t be able to play again, he decided to turn his love for the game into a coaching career. At 24-years-old he became the youngest coach in the history of Yugoslav (now Serbia). He has also spent time between being a head coach for the Georgian and Slovenian national teams. He was presented with the Order of Honour, the highest civilian award you can get in the country, by the President of Georgia for his work as the Republic’s Head Coach. He led Slovenia, highlighted by Goran Dragic and Luka Doncic, to the EuroBasket title in 2017.
Kokoskov has accomplished many firsts in his coaching career. He became the first European coach to hold a full-time position with an NCAA Division I school, when he was with Snyder at Missouri. He was the first non-American assistant in NBA history to win an NBA title. He was also the first non-American assistant to serve on an NBA All-Star Game staff.
He served as an Assistant Coach in the valley from 2008 to 2013, mostly under Alvin Gentry, until he and then fellow Assistant Dan Majerle got punked and the team was forced to suffer under a nightmare of a coach in Lindsey Hunter.
Gentry recently spoke of the prospect of Igor as head coach for these Suns and he absolutely raved about him. Alvin said he’s had some great experience and is very much ready. He understands the game and has great personal relationships with the players he has coached as well as a great temperament. Kokoskov has a great feel for the game, both on the offensive and defensive side and would be a great choice.
With a quiet and calming demeanor, it is very rare that he gets upset during games. He likes to play up tempo and lets players play their game while maximizing their potential with his game plan. He is savvy and ambitious and finds a way to bring the best out of his roster and is like a key when it comes to unlocking young players and helping them develop.
He was largely responsible for the development of Goran Dragic. As Dragic’s confidence wavered, he kept him afloat. To this day, Goran sees him as not just a coach but as a second father, a friend and the reason he succeeded in the NBA after first questioning whether it was even a good idea to come over when he first arrived in America. Igor also helped keep Steve Nash going and helped George Hill re-wire his play.
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For younger/modern fans, you can see how good he is at developing players by just looking at what he’s done on the Jazz. He is largely responsible for getting Gordon Hayward into star status, launching Donovan Mitchell‘s rookie of the year campaign and helping Ricky Rubio with his mid-season turn around. Can you imagine what he could do with the likes of Devin Booker, T.J. Warren, Josh Jackson, Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender?
The Phoenix Suns can get a heck of a consolation prize if they act fast. Budenholzer is gone. Don’t miss out on Kokoskov too. Hire him. Make him your new Head Coach.