Monty Williams’ success in Phoenix contrasted with how the last two playoffs ended.
The Phoenix Suns have dismissed Monty Williams, the winningest regular season coach over the last three years.
“Monty has been foundational to our success over the past four seasons,” general manager James Jones said in a statement. “We are filled with gratitude for everything Monty has contributed to the Suns and to the Valley community.”
Phoenix moves on from Williams — who won Coach of the Year and guided the Suns to their first Finals appearance since 1993 — after the team suffered a second consecutive blowout elimination loss in the Western Conference semifinals. In 2022, the Suns blew a 2-0 lead to Dallas and lost Game 7 at home by 33 points. After tying their 2023 West semifinal series with Denver at 2-2, Phoenix was again ousted at home, this time by 25 points in Game 6.
“Neither day feels good,” Williams said after the loss earlier this week to Denver, when asked to compare last season’s debacle to this year’s season-ending loss.
Jones hired Williams in 2019, when Robert Sarver still owned the Suns. He proceeded to lift Phoenix’s culture and winning rate, culminating in a Finals run that simultaneously snapped the longest playoff drought in team history. They followed that up with a franchise-record 64-win season in 2021-22, only to be stunned by Dallas.
The 2022-23 season went less smoothly for Williams and the Suns. Veteran starter Jae Crowder requested a trade and did not suit up for the team before ultimately being dealt as part of a blockbuster deal that brought Kevin Durant from Brooklyn to Phoenix. Yet Durant’s arrival was immediately met by the same ill injury luck that plagued the team all season, and the newly arrived superstar played in just eight games with his new team before the playoffs.
Phoenix needs to add more quality depth pieces this offseason.
Williams’ chemistry with starting center Deandre Ayton was also of note. The former and franchise’s first No. 1 overall pick, Ayton surprised many when he said neither he nor Williams spoke during the 2022 offseason, which saw Ayton sign a max offer sheet with Indiana before Phoenix promptly matched it to keep him. Ayton’s 2023 playoff production was especially diminished compared to previous seasons, and Williams ultimately benched him in favor of backup big man Jock Landale during key moments of the Suns-Nuggets series.
Williams struggled to cement a reliable rotation around his star duo throughout the playoffs, an issue that continued all the way through Thursday’s demoralizing finale.
“I take that personally, not having our team ready to play in the biggest game of the year,” Williams said. “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.”
Those events swirled around the team’s midseason change of ownership, with Mat Isbhia purchasing a controlling stake of the franchise. After the Durant trade, Williams’ dismissal is Ishbia’s second high-profile personnel move in three months.
The Suns will now search for a coach to head a team still featuring Durant and three-time All-Star Devin Booker, who averaged 33.3 points on 58.5% shooting this postseason.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
