After an eventful 2024-25 NBA season, the Phoenix Suns quickly moved on from head coach Mike Budenholzer. On Thursday, the ownership and front office addressed the fans for the first time since the season ended. General manager James Jones addressed the process the Suns are working on to decide which head coach will fill the shoes left by Bud.
Right now, they haven’t decided on which direction they’ll go with, regarding the head coaching position. Jones explained that the front office is taking their time to make sure they hire the right person for the job and move on from the disaster season that had just finished.
“Time. I think it was evident given the time crunch and given where we were that it wasn’t as thorough or as deep of a search as we would like,” Jones said.
"Time. I think it was evident given the time crunch and given where we were that it wasn't as thorough or as deep of a search as we would like." Suns GM James Jones when asked about the hiring process of a head coach moving forward. #Suns pic.twitter.com/FQLje6q59m
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) April 17, 2025
According to the former NBA player, they’ll use the time they have to carefully screen which coach fits well with the team’s philosophy.
“Fortunately for us, the season ended early so it gives us more time to get this right. Unfortunately, the season ended super early, which means we’re in this position. But we’re gonna be diligent, we’re gonna match the coaches that designed the franchise.
“The coach as to live and breathe and agree with everything that we’re about. That’s the only way you can sustain it. It’s easy to do it for a month, it’s easy to do it for six months, a year. If you don’t believe it, you don’t live it. But over time, when you realize just how much you care about it, how important it is to us and how intertwined it is to the fabric of the Phoenix Suns. If you’re not about it, you won’t be able to live it.”
The team finished 11th in the West with a 36-46 record and has the urge to improve next campaign.
Phoenix Suns owner clapped back at ESPN analyst for his criticism
During the press conference held by the Phoenix Suns, owner Mat Ishbia clapped back at ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. Earlier, he was criticized by Smith and said that Ishbia is “on the verge of being recognized as the worst owner” ever in the history of basketball.
“Stephen A. Smith, I don’t take much of what he says seriously,” Ishbia said. “I don’t think many people do to be honest with you. The things he said about Kevin Durant, just wrong and disrespectful. The things he said about LeBron (James) were just disrespectful and inappropriate.”
Ishbia said he believes Smith will eventually apologize for what he said about the CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage. The owner thinks the ESPN analyst is simply doing his job of speaking into the microphone.
The Phoenix Suns’ owner believes he isn’t a terrible owner because of how the team underperformed over the past two seasons since he purchased it.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
