Another spring is upon us, and the Phoenix Suns have fired another head coach — this time before the rabbit goes hopping.
After going 36-46 and missing the playoffs for the first time in five years, Phoenix fired head coach Mike Budenholzer on Monday, which came just one year after it fired Frank Vogel following just one season on the job. Furthermore, Vogel was hired after the Suns fired Monty Williams following the 2023 playoffs, Kevin Durant’s first playoff run with the franchise.
Given the Suns’ continual head-coaching changes, has Durant become a “coach killer?”
“I hate to say it and not in a negative way, but he really is [a coach killer],” Paul Pierce said of Durant on Monday’s edition of “Speak.” “But that’s what comes with guys like KD because when you have a guy of KD’s caliber like him and LeBron [James], expectations come with them, so as a coach, if you don’t fulfill those expectations, you’re always on the hot seat. And that’s why you’ve seen so many different coaches for LeBron and also KD, but there are only a few guys that you can put in that category, and those two are the guys. He’s definitely a coach killer.”
“Expectations come, and rightfully so, because of who KD is to where if they don’t perform at a certain level, then they’re bringing somebody else in. It just is what it is.”
Durant, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, four-time scoring champion and 11-time All-NBA honoree, averaged 26.6 points per game this season, while shooting 52.7/43.0/83.9 in what was his 17th year in the sport.
The Suns acquired Durant from the Brooklyn Nets before the 2023 NBA trade deadline in what was one of the biggest moves in league history. Phoenix sent out forwards Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson and Jae Crowder, four unprotected first-round picks and a first-round pick swap in what became a four-team trade. For perspective, the Nets traded Bridges to the New York Knicks for four unprotected first-round picks and five first-rounders total, among other assets, 16 months later.
The Suns proceeded to lose in the semifinal round of the Western Conference playoffs, fired Williams and then fired Vogel after being swept in the first round of the 2024 playoffs. Budenholzer (Milwaukee Bucks in 2021) and Vogel (Los Angeles Lakers in 2020) each won NBA championships as head coaches prior to taking over the Suns.
Before arriving in Phoenix, the Nets had four different head coaches with Durant: Kenny Atkinson, Steve Nash and Jacque Vaughn (twice). Durant never played for Atkinson, who was fired during the 2019-20 season in what was Durant’s first season in Brooklyn, but saw him not play due to recovery from a torn Achilles tendon suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals.
Prior to Durant’s three-year stint with the Golden State Warriors (2016-17 to 2018-19), who had and still have Steve Kerr as their head coach, the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder had three head coaches with Durant: P.J. Carlesimo, Scott Brooks and Billy Donovan.
Durant, who will be 37 at the start of the 2025-26 NBA season, is entering the final season of a four-year, $194 million deal. The Suns are reportedly expected to listen to trade offers for the future Hall of Famer this coming offseason.
Durant is eighth in NBA/ABA history with 30,571 career points.
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