A typical part of hiring a coach is having the best players on the team buy into the decision.
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant have bought into the Phoenix Suns choosing Frank Vogel to replace Monty Williams as head coach.
“We have it and we’ve always had it because our focus is on winning championships,” Suns president of basketball operations and general manager James Jones said Tuesday. “When we talk to these guys about the things that we want, the things that we need to do and the areas we need to improve in, we communicate to them and they believe in that, then they believe in the process and the people that you bring in.”
Vogel was a finalist for the job along with Nick Nurse, Doc Rivers, Suns associate head coach Kevin Young and Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez.
“For coaches, it’s critical that you have buy-in, that you have belief, but that usually comes with your resume and that usually comes with your relationships and Frank has both of those.”
Vogel said he’s talked to Booker and Durant since the hire. The new Suns head coach had his introductory news conference Tuesday afternoon at Footprint Center.
“Had great conversations with those guys after being hired,” Vogel said. “A lot of our beliefs are really aligned. A lot of our expectations and hopes on what we want to do to this league this year, we’re all very excited about.”
Vogel later said Durant talked to him about looking forward to playing defense in his system. Vogel is known for his defensive schemes and strategy as three of his teams have finished first in the league in defensive rating and two more ranked third at the end of the regular season.
“I really love how Kevin and Devin compete on the defensive end,” he said. “KD even hit me when we were talking, he said, ‘I can’t wait to guard in your system.’ He wants to get after it on both sides of the ball and feels like that’s something that really gets him going on the other end and I love that.”
Jones said he talked with Durant and Booker about “numerous” candidates when asked if he had talked with his star players before making the hire.
“We talked to those guys about a lot of things, basketball in general, but we’ve been in communication around the numerous candidates, but it always came back down to the attributes we were looking for and they just felt like how I feel. If we can find someone with the attributes we’re looking for, we’ll be OK. So as we went through it, they said, ‘Hey, if these are the things that you’re looking for, we’re on board and we’ll be ready to rock come opening day.”
Vogel coached the Lakers to the 2019-20 NBA championship as the end of the regular season and postseason ended in the Orlando Bubble.
“When we went through this process, we were looking for people who had certain characteristics,” Jones said. “Championship experience. Great communicator. Resume. Being really good on both sides of the ball. Someone who had experience coaching young, talented players. Experienced players. Hall of Famers. All-Stars. Rebuilding. And when we looked at all of those things, we just wanted a well-rounded coach we felt could help us, lead on both sides of the ball and Frank checked all those boxes.”
Vogel coached seven teams to the playoffs in his 11 seasons as a head coach.
“His willingness to come in and dig in and be honest and transparent and to communicate those things, it was really impressive.”
The Suns fired Williams after being eliminated from the playoffs in the Western Conference semifinals on their home court for a second straight year. They lost Game 7 to Dallas by 33 points in the 2022 playoffs as the top overall seed and Game 6 to Denver by 25 points in this year’s postseason.
“Personally, really hard, professionally really hard,” said Jones about the firing of Williams. “That’s the business. Hard decisions are made, tough decisions are made, but for us, it was necessary. After we looked at it, sitting down, evaluating it, we just thought it was time to inject a different voice, different vision. It was time for change and we made a tough decision to change, but change for the better.”
The Nuggets were the No. 1 seed in the West while Phoenix was seeded fourth. Denver has reached the finals as the series is tied 1-1 going into Wednesday’s Game 3 in Miami against the No. 8-seeded Heat.
The Suns traded Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four first-round picks and a pick swap to Brooklyn for T.J. Warren and Durant right before the Feb. 9 trade deadline.
Vogel will have an opportunity to go through a training camp with Durant and Booker together.
Vogel coached LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers to the 2020 NBA championship in a season that ended in the Orlando Bubble amid the COVID-19 pandemic. His ability to build relationships with players is a strength that should come into play when coaching Durant and Booker.“
The Suns have also retained associate head coach Kevin Young, who Devin Booker credited for helping him develop as a player, and they hired former NBA head coach David Fizdale to work as an assistant.
“It was huge for us and Devin wasn’t the only one that had a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Kevin,” Jones said. “That was internal. You look across our organization, we’ve done a lot of good things together, had a lot of success and was integral in that. It’s great to have him with us.”
Young agreed to a deal that’ll pay him $2 million plus a year, making him the highest-paid assistant in the NBA.
“Through this process, he wanted to be here,” Jones continued. “He made that clear. From Day 1, he wanted to be the head coach, but more than that, as we went through the process, he said, ‘Hey, it’s about being a part of this and helping the team win a championship and I’m willing to play whatever part, whatever role that takes cause I really want to be in Phoenix and I want to win in Phoenix.'”
Fizdale coached the Grizzlies for two seasons and the Knicks for two seasons after being a longtime assistant in Miami when Suns president of basketball operations and general manager, James Jones, was a player for Heat.
“A dynamic coach,” Jones said. “A dynamic teacher and a straight talker, straight shooter. He’s going to challenge us. That’s the mark of a good coach. I’ve said this before. If you can constructively challenge your players consistently, they’ll love you and that’s what Fizdale does and that’s why I think he’ll be a tremendous addition to our staff.”
Fizdale was an assistant under Vogel in the 2021-22 season the Lakers went 33-49.
Vogel was fired after the season.
Williams has agreed to a six-year, $78.5-million deal with Detroit to continue his coaching career as the highest-paid head coach in NBA history.
“It’s a phenomenal deal for him,” Jones said. “Detroit is getting a great coach. I’m excited for him and his family. He deserves everything that he’s got and that’s going to be a great opportunity for him. He’ll do well.”
Source: azcentral.com
