Rebuilding the Desert: Phoenix Suns Part Ways with Monty Williams as the Franchise Aims for a Fresh Start

The Phoenix Suns have fired Monty Williams after four regular seasons in which he won 63% of his games. Williams guided the team to the NBA Finals in 2021, where they lost in six games after having a 2-0 lead. This, along with two straight years of trailing by 30 points at halftime of elimination games at home, led to his dismissal. James Jones, the Suns’ president of basketball operations and general manager, stated that Williams was foundational to their success over the past four years and expressed gratitude for his contributions to the Suns and the Valley community. The decision to fire Williams was made by Jones himself.

The Suns now become yet another high-profile coaching opening, along with the Toronto Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks. Williams’ firing is the second major move made by the Suns since new owner Mat Ishbia took control of the club, after he green-lighted a blockbuster trade that brought Kevin Durant to Phoenix. Despite this, the Suns were unable to deliver a title.

In his nine seasons as a head coach, Williams has a record of 367-336 in the regular season and 29-27 in the playoffs. Williams had been the coach with the fifth-longest tenure with his current team entering Saturday. Of the last nine coaches to take a team to the NBA Finals, only two are still with the franchise they got to the title series—Steve Kerr in Golden State and Erik Spoelstra in Miami. The others have all been fired by the team they brought to the finals.

Williams was second in the official NBA coach of the year balloting in 2021, behind New York’s Tom Thibodeau. He was also chosen as the coach of the year for that season by his peers in the National Basketball Coaches Association and won the NBA‘s coach of the year award this year.

The Suns started the season with a 16-7 record, looking like a contender again, but went 29-30 the rest of the way and had to use 26 starting lineup combinations. They had to wait about a month after acquiring Durant for a January knee injury to heal, and then he missed three more weeks after slipping on the court during warm-ups for his home opener with the Suns on March 8. The Suns were 12-1 in Durant’s first 13 appearances, five of those in the playoffs. Then they went 2-4 against the Denver Nuggets, all four losses by double figures. Williams took the fall for this.

Williams blamed himself for not having the team ready to play in the biggest game of the year, stating that he takes that personally and that it’s something he has to take a deep look at. This kind of self-reflection is to be admired, and more people in sports should follow suit. It’s important to be accountable and responsible for one’s actions, especially when you’re in a leadership position.

Williams said, “When you look at really good coaches who have lost their jobs shortly after winning a championship, that’s something that is just different about our business, it’s just a part of our NBA economy.” This is a sad reality of the sports industry, that coaches are often fired after bringing their team to the NBA Finals or winning a championship. It is important to remember that coaching is a high-pressure profession, and coaches are constantly scrutinized and expected to win.

In this case, the Suns are in need of a fresh start and rebuilding. It will be interesting to see who they bring in to take over as head coach and how they will navigate the offseason. The firing of Williams serves as a reminder that being a successful coach is not just about regular-season wins but also about delivering in the playoffs and being able to adjust to changing circumstances.

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