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The Phoenix Suns are in the difficult position of trying to maximize a flawed roster with championship aspirations. Which coach is the best voice to lead them?
New Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia has already made an outsized impact on his new team. He facilitated the Kevin Durant trade in February and he was reportedly central to the team’s decision to fire Monty Williams after Phoenix’s second-round loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Williams is one of the most respected coaches in the NBA. From the outside at least, he appeared well-respected in the Suns’ locker room — with the possible exception of Deandre Ayton, whose completely blasé attitude in the postseason has been a storyline two years running. But, when your team has title aspirations and you get curb stomped in the second round twice in a row, change is inevitable.
The challenge for Phoenix is trying to find the right coach for a deeply flawed, very talented team. No one can deny the star power of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Chris Paul is still a master playmaker and, if he’s still around, Deandre Ayton can make plays from the center position. But Phoenix is short on depth with very little financial flexibility to speak of. The new head coach will have to get creative.
Best head coach options for Phoenix Suns to replace Monty Williams
3. Nick Nurse
Nick Nurse won the championship with Toronto in 2019. Over the years, he has fashioned multiple postseason contenders out of deeply flawed rosters. The Raptors never lacked depth, per se, but the Raptors did lack perimeter shot creation and traditional floor spacers in the post-Kawhi Leonard era. And Nurse, at least until last season, found ways to make it work.
Creativity is Nurse’s greatest strong suit. He’s known for making on-the-fly adjustments, especially on defense. He will throw entire schemes out the window mid-game and reconfigure his team’s approach in the huddle. Nurse teams are hard to game plan for.
Monty Williams has many great attributes, but Phoenix’s inability to adapt was a big storyline in the playoffs two years running. Nurse will adapt much more freely. He’s also extremely reliant on his starters. The Suns might want him to temper minutes for the stars (especially Durant) in the regular season, but Nurse has never been one to go deep into his bench. That could mitigate some of the problems tied to Phoenix’s lack of depth so long as they stay healthy.