The Phoenix Suns have fired head coach Jeff Hornacek, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Phoenix Suns fired coach Jeff Hornacek, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) February 1, 2016
After weeks of rumors surrounding the Suns, the team has finally decided to part ways with Hornacek. Phoenix is currently sitting at 13th in the West, with a 14-35 record. In three seasons with the Suns, the former player accumulated a 101-111 record.
According to Wojnarowski, the interim position will go to either Earl Watson or Corey Gaines.
Hornacek’s firing comes after a whirlwind of rumors and issues surrounding the team since the offseason. First, the team traded away forward Marcus Morris among others to make room for signing LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge joined the Spurs, while Morris’ twin brother Markieff became frustrated with the team for trading his brother, and publicly demanded a trade of his own multiple times. While Markieff stayed in Phoenix, he has been in and out of the rotation and acted out on numerous occasions.
Meanwhile, the team has lost Eric Bledsoe for the season and owner Robert Sarver has blamed issues on millenial culture. The Suns had also previously fired several of Hornacek’s assistants, perhaps as a warning to the head coach that he would be next.
To say that Hornacek was not necessarily given a fair deal is perhaps an understatement. He coached the team to a surprising 48-34 record in his rookie season, falling just short of a playoff berth and did his best to coach through a ton of adversity in his third season. He coached a faulty roster for hasty management while experiencing the bulk of the unhappiness of his malcontent players. Hornacek is likely not blameless in all of that. However, much of the issues surrounding the Suns did not have much, if anything to do with the head coach.
Firing Hornacek instead feels like a move to find a scapegoat for a miserable and disappointing season for the Suns. The team was expected to contend for a playoff berth this season and has failed to come close. At times, they look like the worst team in the league. In the eyes of Suns’ management, firing Hornacek was the logical move to fix that. Whether that’s true or not is another question entirely.
