The Phoenix Suns fired Monty Williams on Saturday, two years after reaching the NBA Finals. Check it out here in this article.
Monty Williams fired as Phoenix Suns head coach.
Monty Williams said Friday he doesn’t worry about his job, but can see why one would in today’s NBA.
“From my perspective, you do the best you can and if things don’t turn out the way you want them to, you can sleep and rest because you did the best you could and that’s all you can do, but I’m not closed minded on what I’ve seen in the league,’ Williams said. “A lot of these guys who’ve lost their jobs are good friends of mine.”
A day later, the Suns fired Williams, sources confirmed to The Republic Saturday evening.
This comes after the Suns were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs in the Western Conference semifinals after falling to No. 1 seeded Denver by 25 points in Thursday’s Game 6 at Footprint Center.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first tweeted the news of Williams being fired two years after leading the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals and a year after Phoenix won a franchise-record 64 games last regular season.
USA Today’s Jeff Zilgitt also confirmed the news Saturday as well. In four seasons, Williams posted a 194-115 record in the regular season, 27-19 mark in the playoffs, but had disappointing playoff exits last year and this year.
With new owner Mat Ishbia, changes were expected, especially with the way the season ended.
Firing Williams, who received a contract extension last summer, is the first major one. the Suns released their official statement Saturday evening on Williams.
“Monty has been foundational to our success over the past four seasons,” said Suns president of basketball operations and General Manager James Jones in the news release. “We are filled with gratitude for everything Monty has contributed to the Suns and to the Valley community. While it was difficult for me to make this decision, I look forward to continuing the work to build a championship team.”
There are several coaching candidates the Suns could target starting with Nick Nurse, Mike Budenholzer and Ty Lue.