It is time for the Phoenix Suns to clean house. That includes the executive suites.
The third annual Fire Your Head Coach Day has come and gone in the desert, with the Phoenix Suns relieving Mike Budenholzer of his clipboard on April 14 in the opening salvo of what is expected to be a summer of change. But this time, the Suns cannot merely fire the coach, shuffle the deck, and see what next season brings. After the worst season in franchise history relative to expectations, this summer needs to be felt on the Richter scale.
In a statement following Budenholzer’s dismissal, the Suns said, “Competing at the highest level remains our goal, and we failed to meet expectations this season. Our fans deserve better. Change is needed.” Terse. Direct. But is it hollow?
Yes, Budenholzer’s head rolled, but after three head coaches in three seasons, the problem isn’t with the head coach per se. This group of players might have gotten along — at least according to Bradley Beal’s comments in the final days of the season — but the on-court picture was always a mess, like a puzzle with ill-fitting pieces plainly hammered into place. And who was in charge of assembling this puzzle, players and coach alike? James Jones, the general manager and president of basketball operations.
Jones vocally backed every move. He was at the table explaining how Frank Vogel was the right coach in 2023, saying, “Through this process, after talking to many great candidates, many amazing coaches, we settled on the guy who we think has all the qualities. Leadership, honesty, integrity, championship experience, a love for the game, a passion for the community — those are the attributes and the traits that Frank embodied.”
A year later, he was at the table doing an introductory press conference for Budenholzer, saying, “We’re here to compete for championships, and I believe with Mike at the front, we’ll continue to do that.” And: “We moved quickly to Bud just because when we look at our roster and what our roster needs, he fits it.”
Photo by Barry Gossage / NBAE via Getty Images
And those are just his comments regarding coaching hires.
He was there when Kevin Durant came to town, when Beal replaced Chris Paul. (And the less said about the 2020 NBA Draft, the better.) Every move, big or small, he has been front and center. He owns, in the words of the team, these failed expectations as much as anybody.
As 2024 ground to a halt and Phoenix faced another summer of missed expectations, Jones said he was thinking about the immediate future of, “How do we run it back, how do we get better, how do we improve, how do we use all of our resources, all of our assets, all of our energy, all of our time; how do we invest those the right way so that we don’t have this result again next summer.”
The Suns didn’t have the same result. They sank deeper into the morass.
Does that rate as a job well done by the team architect? Jones’s contract reportedly expires at the end of June. Maybe Mat Ishbia lets nature take its course, maybe he cuts bait tomorrow. But the only way Jones should survive as the general manager into July is if Ishbia comes out and issues a statement along the lines of every one of these moves has been my idea foisted upon James Jones despite his vociferous pushback. Having been humbled, I will step back and allow him to build the team according to his vision and not my impulses.
Having been humbled, I will step back and allow him to build the team according to his vision and not my impulses. That’s the only way. James Jones is paid to assemble the roster; it’s his only job. So if the Suns bumble and fumble their way to 11th in the Western Conference despite a vertiginous payroll, his head must roll with the rest of them.
The Suns just went through a decade of this with Ryan McDonough and the vaunted brain trust that was Lance Blanks and Lon Babby. Year after year, head coaches filtered through Phoenix. Year after year, players were brought in, swapped around, and sent out. Things didn’t improve, but the executives were given long leashes, presumably to allow them to execute their visions.
Jones has executed his vision. He doesn’t get exempted from the chopping block in 2025 because he helped construct the NBA Finals team in 2021. Monty Williams coached that team; he’s at home. Everyone but Devin Booker is gone from that roster. No one is untouchable.
If Jones returns next season, it means the organization is more interested in scapegoats than accountability. Budenholzer needed to go. The roster needs to be flipped. Both parties failed in their responsibilities. But James Jones draped the oily rags over the radiator. It will be an insult if he remains standing in the ashes of this season.
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