The Phoenix Suns are considering four candidates for their head coaching position, including two NBA championship coaches, Nick Nurse and Doc Rivers. The other two candidates are rising stars Kevin Young, who is currently an associate head coach with the Suns, and Jordi Fernandez, an associate head coach with the Sacramento Kings. Phoenix is looking for a successor to Monty Williams, who was fired after the Suns lost in the Western Conference semifinals to the Denver Nuggets.
Nurse has emerged as a prominent candidate in both the Suns’ and Milwaukee Bucks’ coaching searches, and is one of three finalists in Milwaukee. Rivers, who has had 16 straight winning seasons as a head coach, recently led the Philadelphia 76ers to 54 victories in the 2022-23 season, the franchise’s most since 2000-01. Young has been gaining momentum as a head-coaching candidate and has previously interviewed for head coaching jobs with the Sixers, Utah Jazz, and Washington Wizards. Fernandez was a part of Michael Malone’s coaching staff with the Nuggets for six seasons before becoming the associate head coach with the Kings in 2022.
The Suns are pitching a job that includes two of the league’s best players, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, and are looking for a coach who can help them build on their recent success. Nurse led the Toronto Raptors to an NBA championship in 2019 and won the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 2020, while Rivers has a record of 154-82 (.653) in his three seasons with the Sixers. The Suns are expected to make their decision soon, as they have several draft picks in this year’s NBA draft and want their new head coach to be involved in shaping the team’s roster.
