News broke on Saturday night that the Phoenix Suns and head coach Monty Williams were parting ways.
Williams has the NBA’s best record over the last three seasons. And while the Suns may be moving on from Chris Paul, they still have Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on the roster. This isn’t exactly a rebuilding team.
That begs the question. Who might new owner Mat Ishbia target to replace Williams and get Phoenix over the hump?
NBA Insider Marc Stein reported on Saturday that “The Suns, league sources say, are expected to explore the feasibility of trying to lure Tyronn Lue away from the Clippers after tonight’s abrupt dismissal of Monty Williams as coach.”
The NBA world had a big reaction to the news.
Interestingly, the Suns eliminated the Lue-coached Clippers in both the 2021 and 2023 postseasons. But given how short-handed Los Angeles was in 2023, it’s easy to see how Phoenix would have been impressed by Lue, even though the Suns won the series in five games. Lue is also a championship-winning coach, having coached the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA title in 2016 and back to the finals in both 2017 and 2018.
Of course, Lue going to the Suns would depend on more than just mutual interest between the two parties. He’s also under contract with the Clippers for two more seasons. So, Phoenix would need permission from Los Angeles and would likely need to work out some sort of compensation to make this deal happen.
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