Ryan McDonough hit the ground running in his first shot at being a lead executive with a franchise after being hired by the Phoenix Suns in May of 2013. After three straight seasons of missing the playoffs following the exit of Steve Nash, the Suns looked like a team on the rise in McDonough’s first year with them. A 48-34 record in the 2013-14 season showed a team with promise but the random success of this team might have ultimately been McDonough’s downfall.
The Suns were always chasing that one last piece to help them succeed in the Western Conference. Whether it was LaMarcus Aldridge, Paul Millsap, Andre Iguodala or Derrick Favors, Phoenix always found a way to put their name in the running for a talent. But instead, they resorted to bad contracts for veterans and the draft to find stars. They currently appear to have two on board in Devin Booker, who just signed a max extension, and rookie top pick Deandre Ayton but that wasn’t enough to keep McDonough around.
After five years with the Suns, McDonough has been fired. He went 155-255 at the helm for Phoenix going through four head coaches in the process including his latest hiring of Igor Kokoskov.
The announcement was made by the team in a press release.
The Phoenix Suns announced today that they have relieved Ryan McDonough of his role as general manager, effective immediately.
In the interim, general manager duties will be handled by Vice President of Basketball Operations James Jones and Assistant General Manager Trevor Bukstein. Jones will manage basketball operations including oversight of coaches, players and staff, while Bukstein will be the primary contact for player transactions.
“After much thought and a long evaluation of our basketball operations, I have decided to relieve Ryan McDonough of his duties as general manager of the Phoenix Suns,” said Suns Managing Partner, Robert Sarver. “Our focus in the short term is to prepare for the upcoming NBA season and to continue pursuing opportunities to strengthen our roster. Over the course of the season, we will explore both internal and external options as we look to restructure our basketball front office leadership. On behalf of the entire organization, I want to thank Ryan for his efforts and contributions during his five-plus years with the Suns. We wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
