Jeff Hornacek, new coach of the New York Knicks (Photo : Doug Pensinger | Getty Images Sport)
The Phoenix Suns are another team in turmoil. Just as the Houston Rockets and LA Clippers are slowly gaining form, another Western team slips.
The Suns needed to make a move, but they still seemed hesitant to stir the pot, so they recently fired assistant coaches, as Hoops Habit noted, "the Suns have cut ties with offensive assistant Jerry Sichting and defensive assistant Mike Longabardi."
That seems like an uncanny move but the Toronto Raptors did the same thing during the offseason. It was not an absolute move as the Houston Rockets did with Kevin McHale, but this is headed in the same direction as HH says.
"Head coaches are afforded the opportunity to surround themselves with assistant coaches they trust and believe in," Hoops Habit explained. 'For a front office to fire them is a very blatant shot towards Hornacek, as if to say 'this is your absolute last chance to get this right.'"
The woes for the Suns probably won't end with that maneuver, as Eric Bledsoe, the team's best player and borderline All-Star, recently got injured. Now the Suns are facing a possible lottery appearance.
Zach Lowe of ESPN mentioned a tweet by Howard Beck that read: "FWIW: A few weeks back, a source w/ties to Suns predicted/speculated that PHX would dump Hornacek and chase Luke Walton next summer."
While that is unconfirmed, Lowe wrote in ESPN that Jeff Hornacek is actually a "good coach" and he is hardly the sole reason for the Suns failures. He points out that Tyson Chandler was a bad fit as they did not get LaMarcus Aldridge (Chandler was hired as bait to lure LMA). Also, the Markieff Morris outburst was not Hornacek's fault as it was the front office who made the trade.
Also, he says that "the Suns need to be careful here. If they think Hornacek is their coach of the future, they shouldn't let a bad season decide his job status. And without Bledsoe, this could turn into a very bad season." Again, Bledsoe's injury could not be blamed on the coach.
If the Suns let go of Hornacek, there are teams who will most probably have coaching vacancies. The Wizards, Lakers, Raptors, Rockets and Timberwolves are among the teams mentioned by Lowe to possibly have a coaching change.
