With the recent news that the Phoenix Suns had parted ways with Frank Vogel after only one season in charge, superstar Devin Booker is going to enter the 2024-25 season playing under his seventh head coach since being drafted back in 2015.
Not exactly what you want when trying to build a championship contender - with continuity and consistency an important part of the puzzle - although no a personal level Booker has thrived under everybody he has played for. He's made the NBA Finals and is a multiple time All-Star, and is only getting better.
But if you look back at all of the previous head coaches during Booker's time with the franchise, it is clear some performed better than others.
We now know that former Milwaukee Bucks leading man Mike Budenholzer will be the next head coach of the Suns, and he will be tasked with getting the best out of not only Booker, but also Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal as well.
His free-flowing offensive schemes in complete contrast to the more rigid sets of Vogel, and the hope is that Booker won't be asked to play the point guard position as much next season either. Buckle up for this one though Suns fans, because this is a trip down memory lane that will likely include some stops you tried to erase from your memory.
7. Igor Kokoskov
In a frantic race to the bottom, Serbia's Igor Kokoskov receives the distinction of being the worst head coach that Booker has played under to this point in his career. On the plus side, when Kokoskov got the job back in 2018, he became the first European born head coach in the history of the league.
Winning Eurobasket with Slovenia in 2017 meant that he got the job to some fanfare, but a 19-63 season quickly extinguished any hopes that he could be a long-term solution for what was a slowly growing Suns team. The General Manager who made the call to can Kokoskov? James Jones, who is still in the position today although that could be under threat after how 2023-24 unfolded.
Fenerbahçe Beko (Igor Kokoškov - 2020/2021) misdirection and “Stampede” set, which was used to create player movement, downhill driving momentum and spacing.
— Tevin Juwan Brown (@_juwan) May 4, 2024
Ideally, you want the ball handler to be driver to their dominant hand. pic.twitter.com/gMGynGCWWe
Really though the reason Kokoskov finishes last here is because the roster he managed to finish bottom of the Western Conference with was not that bad. They had a young Booker and Mikal Bridges, while a nearly but not totally washed Tyson Chandler was manning the paint. Throw in a splash of Deandre Ayton, Trevor Ariza and Jamal Crawford, and there's vibes to be found here.
If anything it was the presence of these veteran players who had been around a long time that was likely the downfall of Kokoskov. If he'd been given Booker, Ayton, Bridges and Dragan Bender and been allowed to coach them through their mistakes, this might have actually ended better. Only it didn't, and Kokoskov has been an assistant in the NBA ever since.