Another fantastic acquisition has just been announced by the Phoenix Suns head coach.
PHOENIX (AP) — When discussing his background in Arizona, Mike Budenholzer began to cry a little bit. He spoke about his perfect upbringing in the small town of Holbrook, which is located roughly three hours northeast of Phoenix.
When he spoke about his future, those tears quickly dried up.
“To think that I’m going to be the head coach of the Phoenix Suns is mind-boggling, like mind-blowing,” Budenholzer remarked on Friday at a press conference held in downtown Phoenix as part of his introduction.
After one underwhelming season, Frank Vogel was sacked on May 9 and replaced by 54-year-old Budenholzer. As the team continues its quest for a title, the two-time NBA coach of the year will be expected to pull more out of the team’s All-Star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal.
Under Vogel, the team never really clicked last season, going 49-33 overall before losing to Minnesota in the opening round of the playoffs.
Working with this roster and these players excites me, said Budenholzer. “We have excellent players. Great players also bring with them high expectations. I believe we accept that.
In front of a small group of relatives and friends on Friday, including his 94-year-old father Vince—who Mike referred to as “the original coach Bud”—Budenholzer gave a speech. While guiding the Milwaukee Bucks, the younger Budenholzer captured the NBA title in 2021, defeating the Suns in the process.
Phoenix has made it to the Finals three times in 56 seasons but has never taken home a championship.
After five seasons with the Bucks in 2023, Budenholzer was let go, and he did not coach in the NBA this past season. In addition, from 2013 to 2018, he served as the Atlanta Hawks’ coach. Over ten seasons, he has a 484-317 record.
Budenholzer worked as coach Gregg Popovich’s assistant for the San Antonio Spurs for 17 years prior to moving to Atlanta.
Even though he had the opportunity to rest, he is eager to return to the court.
He continued, “I’d like to keep coaching as much and as long as I can.”
Rebuilding a Suns roster is now going to be a challenging task. Phoenix’s large contracts with Booker, Durant, and Beal leave them with little flexibility under the salary cap in the NBA. Both Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkic, the team’s other two anticipated starters, have contracts for the upcoming campaign.
Last season, the Suns struggled with turnovers, especially in the fourth quarter, and lacked a genuine point guard. In the offseason, Budenholzer gave the impression that he would like to add at least one point guard.
Budenholzer remarked, “The talks have been excellent, and there’s no doubt that we need to look at the entire roster and talk about point guard.” Whether it has to do with the front office, players, or the media, I’m sure it’s a contentious topic. We must give it some thought.
“We must be able to participate without one. I think we should be able to have one. We must be adaptable and play in many capacities.
Prior to considering point guards or turnovers, the coach devoted a significant portion of Friday to relishing his opportunity at a dream position.
Budenholzer smiled and remarked, “The biggest message I want you to hear is that I would coach this team if it was on the moon.” “If this squad were in Alaska, I would be the coach. I would travel anywhere to coach this squad if these players were in Denmark.
