The Phoenix Suns are one of a few teams with a head coaching position available, however they, by far, are the best job for potential candidates.
Like most offseasons in years past, there are several NBA teams in search of a new head coach and the Phoenix Suns are no exception to this either. While any head coaching job in the NBA is a good job, the Suns by far are the best landing spot for any coach looking for employment. There a several areas to where the Suns have the advantage over other rosters.
Star Power
The Memphis Grizzlies are excluded from this list, because of the announcement that J.B. Bickerstaff was named as the team’s head coach.
Teams like the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks and the Charlotte Hornets have stars, but no franchise players. The Magic’s best player in Aaron Gordon is a restricted free agent, so the team’s future could be uncertain. Dennis Schroder isn’t going to transform the Hawks into contenders by himself. While Kemba Walker is a proven All-Star, he can’t seem to pull the Hornets out of mediocrity.
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The New York Knicks have a superstar in Kristaps Porzingis, but the recovery time for his ACL injury isn’t clear, something a head coach shouldn’t want to deal with. The only team that has the same level star power as the Suns have in Devin Booker and the budding Josh Jackson, is the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks have a nice one-two-punch in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. While the Bucks may have more experienced star power than the Suns do at this point, Phoenix has other assets that makes them the better landing spot.
Salary Cap
Being able to sign free agents is essential for teams improving. Based on a team’s salary cap situation will determine how active a team can be in free agency during the offseason. Any potential coach should consider how active a team can be during free agency. The list below is ordered from which team is projected to have the least amount of salary on their books to the most.
- Hawks projected total of salaries is $70,456,108
- Suns projected total of salaries is $78,421,308
- Magic projected total of salaries is $84,558,897
- Knicks projected total of salaries is $99,972,105
- Bucks projected total of salaries is $105,506,093
- Hornets projected total of salaries is $119,578,294
The Suns have the second lowest amount of salary already committed for next season. Only the Hawks have more, but based on the fact the Hawks have no real superstars, it’s unlikely they attract a big name free agent. The salary cap for every team is projected to be at around $101 million, which means only the Knicks, Magic, Suns and Hawks will have the salary cap to be active in free agency. The Suns have the star power and the salary cap to attract a big name free agent and head coach, however there’s one more thing the Suns have.
Draft Picks
Looking at this upcoming draft alone, Phoenix has the best chance to win the lottery and two first round picks. Only Atlanta has more first round picks than the Suns, but each team still has four total picks each. New York and Orlando each have two picks, while Milwaukee and Charlotte only have one pick each in this upcoming draft. Honestly, unless the Hawks win the lottery, it’s a even split between Phoenix and Atlanta on which team has the better overall collection of draft picks.
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The Phoenix Suns have some of the best talent available, one of the best salary cap situations and possibly the best draft situation to make any head coach salivate at the chance to coach the team. The Suns are setup for both short-term and long-term success, which should help the Suns hire the best head coach available.