NBA: Phoenix Suns fire Monty Williams as head coach after second-round playoff exit

Monty Williams was fired from his role as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns after the team’s loss to Denver. Read to know more.

Phoenix Suns dump Monty Williams as coach

Last year’s NBA coach of the year, Monty Williams was fired from his role. Williams went 194-115 in the last four game seasons with the Suns two days after the team lost to Denver Nuggets in their best-of-seven series. The game was a must-win for the Suns but they trailed by 30 points at halftime and in the end the Nuggets prevailed 125-100. As per an ESPN report, Mat Ishbia, the new Suns’ owner, finalized the move on Saturday.

The Phoenix Suns made an amazing deal to obtain Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant at the February trade deadline. However, his ankle injury is limiting him to playing eight regular season games. Now with Durant and Devin Booker signed with long-term deals, the Suns are an attractive team for any coach.

More on the major drop:

Monty Williams has an overall coaching record of 367-336 in four NBA seasons with the Suns and five seasons with New Orleans. He also guided the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals where they lost to Milwaukee. “I take that personally, not having our team ready to play in the biggest game of the year. That’s something that I pride myself on and it just didn’t happen. That’s something I have to take a deep look at, everything I’m doing,” stated Williams earlier.

“We are filled with gratitude for everything Monty has contributed to the Suns and the Valley community,” stated James Jones. Jones is the president of basketball operations for the Suns. The 51-year-old will now be joining Milwaukee’s Mike Budenholzer and Toronto’s Nick Nurse. They are coaches to be fired despite being voted as the NBA Coach of the Year over the previous five seasons.