The Phoenix Suns are currently looking for their fourth head coach in as many seasons under team majority owner Mat Ishbia, sources inform John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix.
Gambadoro initially reported that Miami Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn and Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Johnnie Bryant and Jordan Ott had all made the cut.
Not accurate. It is down to four. Chris Quinn, Johnnie Bryant and Jordan Ott I can confirm through various sources are in the Final Four. https://t.co/YR9lvGtZ7D
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) May 27, 2025
Later, Gambadoro revealed that Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Sean Sweeney is slated to interview for the gig on Weds., which when correlated with Gambadoro’s previous reporting suggests that Sweeney is the fourth contender.
Hearing Dallas assistant Sean Sweeney is heading to Phoenix to interview in person for the head coaching job tomorrow.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) May 27, 2025
Multiple sources inform Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, however, that Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori is also still a candidate. Rankin lists three names that overlap with Gambadoro’s reporting: Quinn, Ott and Sweeney.
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Phoenix initially had been looking at between 15 and 20 contenders for the job. This past weekend, the club concluded Zoom interviews with a group of nine finalists, according to Gambadoro.
Second round of interviews for Suns head coaching job just finished up – most still on zoom. In next day or two finalists will be told and in person meetings scheduled.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) May 25, 2025
The Suns have undergone many a transformation since billionaire mortgage lender Ishbia purchased a 57 percent controlling stake in the franchise — and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury — mostly from disgraced former owner Robert Sarver in Feb. 2023.
When Ishbia purchased the club, it had recently acquired 15-time All-Star power forward Kevin Durant, pairing him with 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul and four-time All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker, plus athletic center Deandre Ayton, in an effort to return to the NBA Finals following a disappointing second round upset the previous season.
Instead, Phoenix was ousted in the second round once again, this time by the eventual champion Denver Nuggets.
The Suns fired 2022 Coach of the Year Monty Williams that summer, replacing him with Frank Vogel — who had just won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers two years prior. Paul and Ayton were traded away in the offseason, and the Suns made a questionable trade for pricey, oft-hurt former All-Star guard Bradley Beal.
This reconfigured Suns club under Vogel was solid, but didn’t quite set the world on fire as all three stars dealt with health issues. Vogel, a defense-first coach, was seen as an awkward fit with the team’s offense-first stars.
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Phoenix went 49-33 in 2023-24 and finished with the Western Conference’s No. 6 seed, but got destroyed in a four-game first round playoff sweep by the West Finals-bound Minnesota Timberwolves that spring.
Ishbia subsequently canned Vogel in the offseason, bringing in 2019 Coach of the Year and 2021 champion ex-Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer for 2024-25. This past regular season was an unmitigated disaster. Despite Durant and Booker being relatively healthy, the Suns had absolutely no on-court chemistry together.
Phoenix went 36-46 and missed the postseason entirely. Budenholzer was given the boot.
All these finalists are unproven as head coaches, but are well-respected as longtime assistants. What Phoenix wants to do with the contracts of Durant and Beal going forward remains to be seen, but it’s quite possible the Suns roster will look very different by the time this new coach actually starts overseeing regular season games.
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