There are many lanes to pick. The head coach is just one example of this.
We’re counting down the final days of the Phoenix Suns season, and as it mercifully winds to a close, we’re left staring at what lies ahead. It feels like we say it every summer. That this is the most important offseason in franchise history. And while I’m not usually one to deal in absolutes, there’s no denying the weight of the moment. Critical decisions loom at every level of the organization. From the front office to the coaching staff, all the way down to the roster itself. The foundation needs more than a touch-up; it needs a full structural reassessment.
With countless decisions looming, each of us finds ourselves wrestling with our own internal blueprint for how to fix the Suns. What should they do? What will they do? Two very different questions with equally different answers.
Should speaks to our ideal vision. What we believe must happen for the team to truly improve. Will is rooted in realism — or perhaps cynicism— what we expect based on patterns, personalities, and the politics of the franchise. The tension between those two is where the fanbase currently lives.
Head coach Mike Budenholzer hasn’t exactly inspired confidence in his first season at the helm. The Suns sit 10 games below .500 and are set to miss the postseason for the first time since 2020. While accountability can — and should — be distributed across the roster and front office for the flawed construction of this team, the head coach often becomes the face of underachievement. Fair or not, that’s typically where the finger gets pointed when expectations aren’t met.
Will the Suns be in the market for a new head coach this offseason? If you ask the fanbase, the answer seems to be a resounding yes. Three-quarters of them believe the franchise will move on.
The general sentiment is that this experiment has fallen short in just about every way, and that a hard reset is necessary, one that includes the head coach. Whether it’s fair to place the full weight of the disappointment on Mike Budenholzer’s shoulders or not, the results speak for themselves. And in the NBA, results often dictate who stays and who goes.
It’s a difficult challenge because moving on from another head coach signals something deeper: an admission of failure. That you got it wrong. Again. And the consequences of that ripple beyond just the sideline. The Suns are teetering on the edge of becoming a non-destination for top-tier coaching talent.
Why would a respected coach want to come to Phoenix if they know one rocky season could be the end? Sure, that pressure exists in many NBA cities, but in Phoenix, it’s becoming a pattern. If you’re trying to build a culture, implement a system, or lay down a foundation, you’d better do it fast. Because if you don’t, there’s a front door.
Should the Suns fire Mike Budenholzer? That’s where the fanbase begins to splinter. A slight majority — 56% — say yes, while 44% believe he deserves more time.
That near-even split reflects a deeper uncertainty: is the problem the architect, or the blueprint he was given?
There’s a growing belief that it’s the roster that needs reimagining, not necessarily the man steering it. While it’s often said a good carpenter doesn’t blame his tools, in this case, maybe you can. The roster Budenholzer inherited was top-heavy, fragile, and ultimately flawed. One of those pillars — expected to carry the weight — was frequently injured and often unproductive.
So how much blame can you lay at the feet of the coach, when the structure he was handed was destined to wobble?
This is just one of many pivotal decisions that Mat Ishbia, Josh Bartelstein, and James Jones will be forced to confront this offseason. And for Ishbia, the choices hit even closer to home. He must weigh the possibility of moving on from Bartelstein and Jones entirely. In truth, no one within the organization should feel secure. Perhaps that’s what makes this moment so distinct.
Is it the most important offseason in Suns history? Probably not. But it may well be the most unique. And still, let’s avoid leaning too hard into absolutes. Not the best, the most critical, or the greatest. Just uniquely complicated.
Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned about the Suns over the years, it’s this: they may not always be entertaining. But they are always, always interesting.
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