The to sunbathe have narrowed their list of head coach candidates to five – Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel, Doc Rivers, kings assistant jorby Fernandez And to sunbathe assistant Kevin YoungShams Charania by The Athletic tweets.
The five finalists meet with the new owner Mat Ishbiateam president James Jones and other team leaders in Michigan this week, according to Charania (Twitter link). A Michigan native, Ishbia played basketball for Michigan State. His mortgage lending company, United Wholesale Mortgage, is also based in Michigan.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that there are four finalists, with Vogel omitted.
Phoenix was fired Monty Williams after his playoff exit in the second round.
Nurse has apparently been preparing to quickly land another coaching job after parting ways with the Raptors after the season. He is also a finalist for the Bucks head coaching position and a candidate for the Sixers head coaching position.
Vogel, who coached the Lakers to a championship in 2020, had an interview Tuesday for the job with the Sixers. Vogel has also been linked with the Bucks’ job but is not among the reported finalists.
Rivers was released from the Sixers just a week ago but was ready to return to coaching next season if the right opportunity presented itself.
Fernandez who served as Mike Browns Top assistant at Sacramento this season, is also a candidate for the former Nurse job. Young was a candidate for the Bucks’ job but did not make the shortlist.
One prominent name not on the Suns finalists list is a former dollar Coach Mike Budenholzer.