The Phoenix Suns are currently in the process of trying to find a fourth head coach in four seasons to lead this team, and you can bet they are going to take their time. Some interesting information has leaked to the media during this search, and it is looking increasingly likely that a first-time head coach is going to get the job.
Given the massive disappointments that both Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer ended up being, this tracks. Then again, there is no reason to think that somebody who has ever had the leading job before can make sense of a roster that is likely going to include both Devin Booker and Bradley Beal next season.
Keeping David Fizdale in Phoenix next season makes sense.
Another nugget of info worth dissecting is the fact that two individuals currently in the running to be the next leading man - Jordan Ott and Steve Hetzel - both have ties to owner Mat Ishbia's alma mater in Michigan State. If either of these guys get the job because they are the best fit, then that is great news for the organization.
But with new General Manager Brian Gregory appearing to have at least partly been promoted so quickly because he too was once with Michigan, the Suns are now being compared to the kind of teams that you really don't want to be. Which is why it is so important that assistant David Fizdale sticks around next season.
To be clear, that should not be as the next head coach. As of now Fizdale is rumored to still be in the running for that job, but that would be a mistake. He too is a veteran of the game - like Vogel and Budenholzer before him - and instead should be used as a sounding board on the bench for the younger head coach. Much like JJ Redick has surrounded himself with wise heads in Los Angeles.
But what Fizdale can bring to the Suns if kept on - which at this point still looks to be on the table - is to show the next head coach all of the previous mistakes of both Vogel and Budenholzer. For a new leading man learning the ropes, that would be invaluable. So too would Fizdale's relationship with Booker in particular, which by all accounts appears to be healthy.
If the next hire didn't hit the ground running - or if it all went wrong and they were gone mid-season - the Suns would at least have Fizdale to get them to the end of that period as well. Ishbia is right in one way to want to clear the decks and move on from what has been an awful two seasons relative to expectations.
But you need to have holdovers such as Fizdale to remind them of the mistakes of the past. You can bet a new head coach is going to want to change some things as well, and Fizdale could act as the go-between with the veteran players to gauge the feeling of the locker-room, and important and underrated process of building a team.
David Fizdale should be kept as far away as possible from the top job in Phoenix moving forward. But in having him in reserve to both break in case of emergency and show the new regime the mistakes of the past, the Suns can get the best of both worlds here. Allowing him the opportunity to interview for the top position is the right way to handle this transition period for the franchise as well.