Hiring Monty Williams is not just about bringing in the right coach for the Phoenix Suns. This move is bigger than basketball.
The Phoenix Suns needed to make the right hire at head coach. However, it wasn’t just about getting a coach or winning games. No, this move was much bigger than basketball. It was about getting the right mentor for all the youth in that locker room.
Monty Williams is that guy.
There is a lot to be positive about in this hire but like all moves the Suns have made recently, there will be criticism and doubt.
Igor Kokoskov. Ryan McDonough, Jay Triano and Jeff Hornacek are all recent moves that felt good when they happened but for whatever reason just didn’t pan out.
One little known fact about Monty is that while he was a player at Notre Dame, he was told by doctors that he had a bad heart and if he kept playing, he’d die.
That didn’t lead to him giving in or giving up, though. He kept his faith and worked hard. Not only did he play again, he made the NBA and had a 9-year career there. He can teach players to keep going, push hard and help them reach their true potential.
He can teach players how to win as he learned how to do that from the best. He played three years as a Spur and was an intern during their 2005 NBA title season. He spent two seasons in their front office with Gregg Popovich. He’s now an assistant on the Sixers who are battling it out in the playoffs.
Monty can teach the Suns how to both lead and follow with several great mentors that respect him and several stars across the league that look up to him.
He’s a prime example of no matter what a playing career, a coaching career or life in general gives you that makes you hit a bump or fall, you stand back up and you keep going.
You think a player will be able to look him in the eyes and tell him something is hard? He lost his wife in a nasty crash and told everyone that they should be praying for, not judging, the lady that caused it.
For once in a long time, the franchise has a head coach with experience as a head coach. Other than a brief Jay Triano stint, you have to go all the way back to Alvin Gentry to find that on the Suns.
Monty has relationships with both James Jones and Jeff Bower and that will surely help in setting the culture. It’s about time that the Suns have someone as their head coach that can truly connect with the players and this will lead to wins on the court as well.