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6 months ago
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The Phoenix Suns have fired Frank Vogel after one season at the team's helm after a first-round playoff by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Despite a loaded roster that contained Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker, the Suns finished sixth in the Western Conference with 49 victories and could not win a single playoff game.
Outside of the game where the Timberwolves eliminated the Suns, Phoenix lost every game of its playoff series against Minnesota by at least a dozen points.
The Suns will now have a third coach in three seasons after Monty Williams was fired at the end of last season.
Phoenix had the league's third highest payroll and tax. Oddly, the two teams that had a higher payroll, the Clippers and Warriors, also did not advance past the first round of the playoffs.
Frank Vogel was fired on Thursday by the Phoenix Suns after one season in charge of the team
The Suns were viewed as underperformers with a roster containing Devin Booker and more
Whoever the Suns hire to take Vogel's spot will be tasked with finding a better foothold on the Western Conference with one of the NBA's top trios.
Phoenix made the NBA finals in 2021, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks, and have been looking to replicate that success since.
Durant will be 36 at the start of next season, while Beal will turn 31 over the summer. The window for Phoenix to win with this core is closing quick, making the acquisition of a win-now coach integral.
While many of those names would not be interested, Mike Budenholzer, an Arizona native, is available, and is expected to be a 'prominent' candidate, per ESPN.
Budenholzer was the coach of the Bucks team that defeated the Suns in the 2021 Finals.
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