The Frank Vogel experiment in Phoenix is over.
The Suns are searching for a new head coach after firing Vogel, the team announced on Thursday, which came less than two weeks after the Timberwolves swept Phoenix in their first-round NBA playoff series.
“As we said at the press conference on May 1, team leadership including myself, Josh Bartelstein, and ownership would be looking across basketball operations to determine what changes needed to be made,” Suns president of basketball operations and general manager James Jones said in a statement. “After a thoughtful review of the season, we concluded that we needed a different head coach for our team. We appreciate Frank’s hard work and commitment.
“We are here to win a championship and last season was way below our expectations. We will continue to evaluate our operation and make the necessary changes to reach our championship-caliber goals. We all take accountability, and it’s my job, along with Josh and ownership, to build a championship team.”
The decision came after Vogel said prior to Game 4 — a 122-116 loss to complete a season-ending sweep on their home floor at Footprint Center — that he is confident he will return next season and that he has the “full support” of team owner Mat Ishbia.
Mike Budenholzer — who the top-seeded Bucks fired last May following a first-round playoff ouster by the Heat — reportedly will be a prominent part of the Suns’ coaching search.
Budenholzer was dismissed after five seasons just two years after he coached Milwaukee to its first NBA title in half a century, and he was one of the Nets’ finalists for their vacancy before the team hired Jordi Fernandez.
The Suns finished the regular season with a 49-33 record and the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference in Vogel’s first season with Phoenix.
Vogel was hired with a five-year, $31 million deal in June 2023 to replace Monty Williams after the Suns came up short to the eventual-champion Denver in the Western Conference semifinals.
But there were apparent issues between Vogel, 50, and the players, with Kevin Durant reportedly unhappy with how he was being used.
Durant “never felt comfortable with his role in Phoenix’s offense” this season alongside Devin Booker and Bradley Beal — whom the Suns acquired in a swap with the Wizards last June — The Athletic reported last month after the Suns were swept in the playoffs.
Durant reportedly felt that he was being “relegated to the corner” too much and not having the blueprint to cater to his strengths “as the offense was built around pick-and-rolls.”
His teammates and others close to the organization felt as though Durant should’ve been more vocal and direct with Vogel and his staff about his feelings, according to The Athletic.
The Suns paired Booker, whom they drafted with the No. 13 pick overall in 2015, with Durant when they traded for him in a blockbuster deal with the Nets in last February.
Beal arrived a few months later, and Phoenix had championship expectations this past season — but instead they failed to gel together and identify a leader and someone to facilitate the offense.