3 of them have actually won NBA titles as head coaches.
The other 2 were head coaches in the G League.
The Phoenix Suns have 5 finalists– Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel, Doc Rivers, Sacramento Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez and Suns associate head coach Kevin Young– for their head training task, sources validated Tuesday night to The Republic.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania tweeted out that list while ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted out Nurse, Rivers, Fernandez and Young will satisfy the Suns for interviews “in the coming days.”
The Suns fired Monty Williams 2 days after their season ended with a 25-point house loss to No. 1-seeded Denver in Video Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. Phoenix was a 4th seed.
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Rivers coached the Celtics to the 2008 champion and 2010 finals while Nurse and Vogel won it in back-to-back seasons. Rivers is buddies with Williams.
Nurse coached the Raptors to the 2019 champion while Vogel did the exact same with the Lakers in the Orlando Bubble in 2020.
Fernandez was a head coach in the G League for the Canton Charge (2014-16) while Young functioned as a head coach for the Utah Flash (2010-11), Iowa Energy (2011-13) and Delaware 87ers (2014-16).
Young likewise coached 4 video games for Williams in the 2021-22 routine season, going 2-2. Williams was out after evaluating favorable for COVID-19. The Suns won a franchise-record 64 video games that routine season.
The Lakers fired Vogel after the 2021-22 season when they ended up 33-49 while the Raptors and Nurse parted methods after this season. Toronto published a 41-41 record and lost in the play-in competition.
2 names that are not the list are Tyronn Lue and Mike Budenholzer.
After Williams was fired, Marc Stein tweeted the Suns were ” anticipated to check out the expediency of attempting to draw” Lue far from the Clippers.
Among the NBA’s finest coaches, Lue is under agreement with the Clippers.
The Bucks fired Budenholzer after Miami got rid of Milwaukee in the preliminary of the playoffs, simply 2 seasons eliminated from winning the 2021 NBA Finals over Phoenix under him. The Bucks were the leading total seed this postseason.
Nurse apparently is a prospect for the Bucks head coach task. There are 5 present training jobs in Phoenix, Milwaukee, Toronto, Philadelphia and Detroit. Houston worked with previous Celtics coach Ime Udoka last month.
Here’s a fast breakdown of Nurse, Rivers, Vogel, Fernandez and Young and how they may suit Phoenix.
Nick Nurse
Age: 55. Home Town: Carroll, Iowa.
Head training record– Routine season: 227-163 (5 seasons all with Toronto Raptors). Playoffs: 41-25 (3 postseasons all in Toronto).
NBA champions: One (2019 ). Finals looks: One.
Suns fit? Nurse understands offense, however he’ll change up defenses and master making in-game modifications. While betting Brooklyn, Kevin Durant offered Nurse props for his protective modifications and plans. He’s likewise worked in using his bench.
Doc Rivers
Age: 61. Home Town: Chicago.
Head training record– Routine season: 1,097-763 (5 seasons in Orlando, 171-168; 9 seasons in Boston, 416-305; 7 with Clippers, 356-208; 3 seasons in Philadelphia, 154-82). Playoffs: 111-104 (5-10 in 3 postseasons in Orlando; 59-47 in 7 postseasons in Boston; 27-32 in 6 postseasons with the Clippers; 20-15 in 3 postseasons in Philadelphia).
NBA champions: One (2008 ). NBA Finals looks: 2 (2008, 2010).
Suns fit? Rivers is among the most reputable coaches in the NBA. That’s a great location to begin in a locker space. Second, he’s the most knowledgeable coach on the list and has a history of training huge names and larger characters. There’s not a circumstance he hasn’t seen prior to. Might be a reunion with Chris Paul.
Frank Vogel
Age: 49. Home Town: Wildwood Crest, New Jersey.
Head training record– Routine season: 431-389 (6 seasons in Indiana, 250-181; 2 seasons in Orlando, 54-110; 3 with the Lakers, 127-98). Playoffs: 49-39 (31-30 in 5 postseasons in Indiana; 18-9 in 2 postseasons with the Lakers).
NBA champions: One (2020 ). NBA Finals looks: One.
Suns fit? Protective minded coach. The Suns fought with that in the postseason. Vogel might get them back to safeguarding. He likes ball motion, body language, something that might fit Devin Booker and Kevin Durant well. The Suns went more seclusion ball with their 2 stars in the playoffs.
Jordi Fernandez
Age: 40. Home Town: Barcelona, Spain.
Head training record: Never Ever been an NBA head coach, however Fernandez served 6 seasons as an assistant in Denver under Michael Malone, who coached the Nuggets to their very first journey to the NBA Finals this season. Fernandez has actually found out under among the video game’s finest. He invested this previous season as an assistant in Sacramento under Mike Brown, who was the NBA’s Coach of the Year by a consentaneous vote.
Suns fit? He began as a gamer advancement coach for 6 years (2009-16) in Cleveland after training overseas. LeBron James and the Cavaliers won all of it in 2016. Fernandez brings those experiences into this function. He’s belonged to winning groups. Fernandez might be that young, surprise gem.
Kevin Young
Age: 41. Home Town: Salt Lake City.
Head training record: Never Ever been an NBA head coach, however Young has actually been the associate head coach in Phoenix the last 2 seasons after signing up with the Suns prior to the 2020-21 season. He was an assistant in Philadelphia from 2016-20 as he and Williams were on Brett Brown’s 76ers personnel in 2018-19. Young was likewise a head coach in the G League for 3 various groups.
Suns fit? Young has the regard of Booker. That’s a big checkmark. Booker not just applauded him for his Xs and Os, however stated Young “has actually been a huge increase” in his profession. He’s been a prospect for numerous NBA tasks. So the league is stating he’s all set to be an NBA head coach.
