Sources: Budenholzer Suns’ top coaching target

Mike Budenholzer has emerged as the Phoenix Suns’ target to become the franchise’s next coach, and discussions are expected to move rapidly toward a deal, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

The Suns fired coach Frank Vogel on Thursday afternoon after one season as a coach, and momentum on a Budenholzer deal included him working on building an assistant coaching staff to bring with him, sources said.

The looming hiring of Budenholzer comes with significant pressure and expectations for these Suns. The roster has been constructed around Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, bringing championship aspirations and a slim margin for error.

Budenholzer is poised to become the franchise’s third head coach in three seasons, a run that has included owner Mat Ishbia firing Monty Williams and Vogel in successive years. Vogel had four years left on his contract, and the cost of a $200 million-plus payroll only gets steeper with the $20 million-plus left on Vogel’s deal and what’s expected to be a substantial deal for the most accomplished head-coaching candidate available in the marketplace.

Budenholzer is from Arizona, and his late father was a well-regarded high school coach in the state. Budenholzer won the 2021 NBA championship with the Bucks. He had a 271-120 (.693) record in five seasons in Milwaukee and a 213-197 (.520) record in his previous years with the Atlanta Hawks.

Budenholzer, 54, is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, winning for the 2014-15 and 2018-19 seasons.

The Suns were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs. Phoenix was 49-33 in the regular season and is faced with a top-heavy salary roster of Booker, Durant and Bradley Beal that limits the franchise’s ability to build out a roster around them.