Report: Suns to hire Frank Vogel as next head coach

The Phoenix Suns are finalizing a five-year, $31 million deal to make Frank Vogel their next head coach, per Shams Charania of the Athletic. Vogel will take over in place of Monty Williams, who was recently let go following the Suns’ second-round exit in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.

Vogel will step back into an NBA head coaching position just over one year after being let go by the Los Angeles Lakers. His three-year stint in L.A. began with the team posting 52-19 record during the pandemic-affected 2019-20 season and ultimately winning the NBA Finals in the bubble. However, injuries to star players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis affected the Lakers’ ability to return to the Finals over the next two seasons. They suffered a first-round exit in 2021 and missed the playoffs outright in 2022, leading to Vogel’s dismissal.

Entering this new job with a career coaching record of 431-389, Vogel will be tasked with getting one of the top teams in the Western Conference like the Suns back to the NBA Finals. He’ll have a dynamic scoring tandem in Kevin Durant and Devin Booker at his disposal, but will have the deal with a rapidly aging Chris Paul and a lack of depth, along with the fractured relationship between DeAndre Ayton and the organization.