The Phoenix Suns find themselves in a tough spot right now, and need something - anything - to break their way to give them some respite. It is certainly not going to be their upcoming schedule, which is the toughest remaining in the entire league. Kevin Durant is going to continue to be outspoken too, after an eventful appearance on Draymond Green's podcast recently.
It would be nice to see Devin Booker close out the season strong - and despite some nice performances at times this season - it came as no surprise that he was not named an All-Star in 2025. All of this has come together to put head coach Mike Budenholzer in the hot seat, with each passing game making the tenure of Frank Vogel look even better.
The Suns appear to have forced a former player out of The Valley.
You probably have an opinion of Jae Crowder - who spent two seasons in Phoenix - that at its most optimistic lands somewhere in the "nice complimentary player, good locker-room guy" area. If anything these days Crowder is a throwback to a much happier time in Suns basketball - which was not even that long ago - and so he is remembered fondly.
In reality he was one of a number of players who - alongside the likes of Torrey Craig - often seemed better in theory and on paper, than they actually did on the court. That's to take nothing away from the veteran though, who last appeared for the Sacramento Kings but did start a surprising 144-of-162 games played for the franchise.
In fact he started all 45 playoff appearances he made - which included that run to the 2021 NBA Finals - while also shooting a shade under 37 percent from deep during the regular season. Crowder took to X recently however, to confirm that he was forced out of Phoenix by previous head coach Monty Williams.
THAT TRU AND ONE DAY I OWE TO THE FANS TO EXPLAIN I NEVER WANTED TO LEAVE AND THEY ASKED ME TO STAY HOME WHILE THEY TRADE ME. ITS A REASON MY TEAMMATES NEVER GOT MAD OR TALKED DOWN ON ME TO THE MEDIA. BC WE ALL WANTED ANOTHER SHOT AT FINISHING WHAT WE HAD STARTED. https://t.co/9rPxTsdG0g
— JAE CROWDER (@CJC9BOSS) February 27, 2025
Although Crowder himself never mentioned Williams in his response, he did effectively do so here in later getting back to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports. Which is sad, because Crowder is exactly the type of player the Suns could do with right now. Not this version of Crowder sadly - his best days are behind him - but the selfless glue guy who was an important part of that team.
It is also interesting to think about what Crowder could have looked like under coach Vogel, or even coach Budenholzer. Monty Williams might have had his guys - and apparently Crowder wasn't one of them - but he seems like a Vogel kind of player. You have to imagine he would have rather played him and used his defensive abilities in certain rotations, rather than turn to Bol Bol again.
Hopefully Crowder keeps his promise and does one day tell everybody what went down, because it will coincide with the beginning of the end of a brilliant era of basketball in The Valley. Yes Durant would come to town and the future looked bright - but with the play-in tournament perhaps beyond them and a rival going to steal a valuable pick from them this summer - that has not happened.