Whether he has the absolute best excuse in the world (the Phoenix Suns’ roster is grossly incomplete), is the franchise at the point where they HAVE to fire Igor Kokoskov at the end of this horrible season?
The 2018-19 Phoenix Suns are not only the worst team in the NBA, but also the worst team in franchise history.
When a team does as poorly as the 2018-19 one has (and it was supposed to have been competitive), fingers are naturally pointed in one direction or another.
Whose fault is it that the 2018-19 Phoenix Suns are as bad as they are?
Is it the player’s fault? Partially. They are the ones on the court playing the game. They are the ones who obviously quit when down double-digits and never have the gumption (or will) to dig themselves back out.
Is it the coach’s fault? Arguably. He is the one who has the moment-to-moment control of the strategy during the game, and the day-to-day control over what players do to learn to both how play as a team and how to improve individually.
Is it the general manager’s fault? He is the one who built the roster, and this season’s team is missing both a point guard and a power forward – flaws that are inexcusable. Granted James Jones did not directly build this team as he was only given the position nine days prior to the start of the season, but he has also had since that moment to at least fill one of those holes, an effort that has been met with either failure, or in-opportunity.
Phoenix Suns
Is it the owner’s fault? Absolutely. He is in charge of the whole thing; he fired most of the scouting staff which has reportedly not been re-filled; he is the one who fired the general manager nine days before the start of the season; yadda, yadda, yadda. I could go on and on, so while Jerry Colangelo is given his due for his years of success as both general manager and owner, Robert Sarver deserves his due for this long stretch of losing.
But since the owner can’t be fired, the general manager isn’t even the general manager yet (if ever), and the players can only be who they are – and their flaws should have been planned around by the general manager(s) – the one person above all others who can receive the blame and thus the shaft, right or wrong, is the head coach.
I’d like to very quickly argue that I do not believe that Igor Kokokov should be fired. I think there is a very simple reason that he has been in the NBA as long as he has and is the head coach of the Slovenian national team: he is a good coach. He might not be the right coach for this team, but while you can’t fire the players, you can trade them, so a generally new roster next season might be one better suited to work in his system and under his leadership.
That said, this is the worst Phoenix Suns team in history and at this point it is inarguable.
Should a franchise ever keep their head coach after such an awful year, even if the greatest issues with the team are entirely out of his control?
Unfortunately, Igor Kokoskov might have to be fired this offseason, if nothing more than a symbolic shaking of the dust off the shoes of this season, hoping to look at 2019-20 with an entirely new and fresh vision.
One of the reasons that I do not want Igor to be fired is because it would mean that the franchise has already had three head coaches in two years, three in three years, and five in four years. Hiring a new head coach would raise every digit in that sentence by a factor of one, and when the roster’s star player will have been coached by every one of those coaches, is it fair to him and every other young payer who has been with Phoenix for any number of years to shake everything up once again?
Why Phoenix might still go in that direction though is because there could be massive roster turnover this offseason, meaning that much of the roster will already be playing for a new coach as it is, and those players left behind will be playing with an generally brand new team. It’s almost like the team is going to have a fresh start as it is, so why not just wash the coaching staff out as well and start anew?
Plus, what confidence do new players have coming to this roster when the guy that led the team last season, led them to the worst season in franchise history? Would free agents prefer to see the Suns hire a new head coach prior to signing?
Something that Sarver and Jones will have to look at prior to entering free agency is if there is any lack of confidence from potential signees that Igor is the guy who is going to lead to a winning team.
Certainly too no good players are going to sign in Phoenix – if they can avoid it – if they believe that the season is going to be a loss.
There is so much at stake for this franchise heading into the offseason, from drafting the right player(s), to trading for and signing the right players, and retaining the right ones as well.
Part of that stake too is making sure that the head coach is the right coach to help return the Phoenix Suns to regular playoff participants and eventual championship contenders.
While I as an outsider would rather see Igor Kokoskov retained because his mind is definitely worthy of being a head coach and the constant shuffling of head coaches is detrimental to the development of the young core, this season may have been so bad that the franchise has no choice but to move on.
Who will make that decision is another question, and wholly dependent upon who is the acting general manager (Sarver, Jones, or someone else). Regardless, while this season cannot be pinned entirely on Kokoskov, his days in Phoenix may very well be numbered.