NBA: Suns’ coach candidates include Nick Nurse, Doc Rivers–reports
Head coach Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors looks on during the third quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on December 19, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP
Doc Rivers and Nick Nurse are among the final candidates for the Phoenix Suns’ coaching vacancy, multiple media outlets reported on Tuesday.
Nurse was recently fired as coach of the Toronto Raptors, the team he coached to an NBA championship in 2018-19.
Rivers, who led the Boston Celtics to the 2007-08 title, recently lost his job as the Philadelphia 76ers’ coach.
Others in the running for the Phoenix job include Suns associate head coach Kevin Young and Sacramento Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez, per ESPN and The Athletic.
In addition, The Athletic listed another ex-NBA championship coach, Frank Vogel, as a fifth Suns finalist. Vogel guided the Los Angeles Lakers to the 2019-20 crown.
According to ESPN, the Suns have just four finalists who will meet with the franchise’s brass.
The Suns fired coach Monty Williams after the team fell to the Denver Nuggets in six games in the Western Conference semifinals. The Nuggets subsequently swept the Lakers to reach the NBA Finals.
Williams, the NBA Coach of the Year in 2021-22, led the Suns to a 45-37 mark this season. In his second season on the Phoenix bench, the Suns reached the 2020-21 NBA Finals before losing to the Milwaukee Bucks. Williams, 51, had a 194-115 regular-season record in four seasons with Phoenix.
Rivers, 61, compiled a 154-82 record during his run with the 76ers, leaving his career mark at 1,097-763 through his stints with the Orlando Magic (1999-2000 to 2003-04), Boston (2004-05 to 2012-13), the Los Angeles Clippers (2013-14 to 2019-20) and Philadelphia (2020-21 to 2022-23).
Nurse, 55, produced a 227-163 record with the Raptors, his lone NBA head-coaching job.
Vogel, 49, has a 431-389 mark after stays with the Indiana Pacers (2010-11 to 2015-16), Orlando (2016-17 to 2017-18) and the Lakers (2019-20 to 2021-22).
Young, 41, was an assistant for four years with the 76ers before spending the past three seasons as an assistant in Phoenix.
Fernandez, 40, worked for six years as an assistant with the Nuggets prior to spending the current season with the Kings.
