The Phoenix Suns are without a head coach as they stare into a long and uncertain offseason, and owner Mat Ishbia is in no hurry to find a new head coach for the organization either. The firing of Mike Budenholzer the third leading man in three seasons to get canned in The Valley. So bad was Budenholzer, that he'd almost make fans miss Frank Vogel.
Plenty of names have already been bandied about as potential replacements, but the reality is that the dismissals might not be done in Phoenix just yet. General Manager James Jones appears to be on thin ice, while it is unclear how long CEO Josh Bartelstein can remain in his current position after a 36 win season.
Shocking treatment of role player meant Budenholzer had to go.
As you might expect - as soon as the season ended for the Suns - rumors began to flood social media about what a disaster the season was. Many believe Kevin Durant will leave this summer, while Bradley Beal's fit with the team has been questioned on several occasions now. It is coach Budenholzer who has received the most criticism though, and it seems a lot of it was justified.
NBA Insider Chris Haynes took to his "Haynes Briefs" show on YouTube recently, and he had a lot to say about the Phoenix Suns and the dark clouds that hung over the team all season. One interesting piece of information in there was about Bol Bol - who after carving out a spot as a starter for a portion of the season - was just as quickly dropped altogether.
Sources: On Haynes Briefs show, how Phoenix intends to avoid star-chasing for defensive toughness, how potential coaches can prepare, how next coach could factor into Kevin Durant's future, and why Bol Bol lost his spot in rotation. #haynesbriefs
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) April 18, 2025
Full EP: https://t.co/cdC3fAc7RE pic.twitter.com/eJeUPrgnLl
This didn't make sense at the time - Bol actually contributed offensively and wasn't a complete disaster defensively especially relative to most other players on the team - but we may now know why. Bol seemingly didn't get involved in a scuffle involving teammate Mason Plumlee and Steven Adams of the Houston Rockets and... yeah, that was it for him.
This seems harsh - granted it is nice to see teammates stick up for each other - but what was Bol going to do against Adams? If anything not escalating the situation and instead opting to perform a couple of layups with the ball until things cooled down showed a level of maturity that a lot of players lack.
Mike Budenholzer with Phoenix:
— CantGuardBook (@CGBBURNER) April 19, 2025
- Told Devin Booker to “tone it down vocally” and to stop being a leader.
- Benched Ryan Dunn for over a month for ZERO reason.
- Told Bradley Beal to play like Jrue Holiday (Nowhere near the same player).
- Benched Bol Bol for the season for… pic.twitter.com/1EsxsrHe82
Even if you come at this from the angle of the Suns needed more toughness and fight throughout the season - which they did - and that Bol didn't show it in this situation, that seems a ridiculous reason for Budenholzer to move away from him altogether. Again he was helping, and the 10 starts were the second most he's ever managed in a season.
He was still picked on defensively - but when you finish 27th in defensive efficiency on the season - Bol wasn't the problem. If anything his longer frame on the perimeter forced certain opponents to think twice about hoisting up shots. If this is true, then it is no wonder Budenholzer lost the dressing room and had to go. That's not even an old-school way of thinking, it's prehistoric.