The Phoenix Suns have fired head coach Frank Vogel of Wildwood Crest, New Jersey according to ESPN on Thursday. Vogel only coached Phoenix for one season since being hired on June 6, 2023. After having a regular season record of 49 wins and 33 losses for a winning percentage of .598, it was a bitterly disappointing postseason for the Suns. They were swept in four straight games to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs.
The bottom line is when your franchise is filled with high profile veteran talent (power forward Kevin Durant of Washington, District of Columbia, and shooting guards Eric Gordon of Indianapolis, Indiana, Grayson Allen of Jacksonville, Florida, Devin Booker of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Bradley Beal of St. Louis, Missouri), and cannot win a single game in the postseason, there are going to be some serious consequences, and Vogel clearly paid the price.
At first glance, one serious problem in Phoenix this season was the makeup of the roster. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the primary positions for Gordon, Booker, Beal and Allen were shooting guard. When you have Allen having to move to forward, and Gordon having to not start because of the talent already in the starting role at the guard position, there are going to be some problematic issues.
The Suns were not only beaten by the Timberwolves in round one, they were clobbered. Minnesota outscored Phoenix by a combined total of 60 points overall. Now Minnesota has the commanding second round lead of two games to none over the Denver Nuggets.
