It seems as though no coach is safe in the NBA these days, even if they win NBA Coach of the Year, with teams ruthlessly firing coaches left and right over the past few years.
This season was no different, with Mike Budenholzer already getting the boot by the Milwaukee Bucks and now Monty Williams being fired by the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns parting ways with Williams after the team failed to get the best of the top-seeded Denver Nuggets in their second-round playoff series was shocking, to say the least.
Another head coach potentially on the chopping block is Doc Rivers of the Philadelphia 76ers, who is on the cusp of dropping another 3-1 series lead in his coaching career.
Rivers was recently asked about the Suns firing Williams, and he said the following via Action Network.
“Don’t win Coach of the Year.”
– Doc Rivers on Monty Williams being fired by Phoenix
(h/t @TimBontemps) pic.twitter.com/R9HCRnN4y5
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) May 14, 2023
Budenholzer won NBA Coach of the Year twice during his stint with the Bucks, the latest being in 2019.
However, Williams won the regular-season award last year, which would make many assume he’d have a few years of job security.
Now it seems the regular-season award for the league’s best coach is worthless, as it does nothing but put a target on your back rather than add to one’s coaching resume.
That said, Mike Brown of the Sacramento Kings better watch out next season, as he is the latest to win the award after snapping the longest playoff drought in the NBA.
The question now for the Suns is where they go with their coaching search, as it could be a position with a short leash due to the added pressure of having a win-now roster led by Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.
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