Suns Hire Frank Vogel as Next Head Coach After Being Linked to Mavs
DALLAS — After the departure of former assistant coach Greg St. Jean earlier this offseason, the Dallas Mavericks were placed in a position to need a new option to fill the front of the bench on Jason Kidd's staff.
One option that had recently emerged for the Mavs was former Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel. It was initially reported by Marc Stein that the Mavs were considered the "favorites" to hire Vogel as he began to consider an assistant coaching role for the 2023-24 season.
"Dallas is regarded as the favorite to land him in the event Vogel begins to consider assistant coaching positions for next season," Stein wrote.
The Mavs will no longer have the chance to make that hiring. The Phoenix Suns are finalizing a deal to hire former Vogel to replace Monty Williams as the team's next head coach, as reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
It was later reported that Vogel agreed to a five-year, $31 million contract with the Suns. With a lengthy contract to lead a Western Conference title contender led by Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, taking an assistant coaching role clearly no longer was the best move.
Vogel hadn't surfaced as a finalist for the Suns job until John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reported on May 30 that he was among the three finalists, including Doc Rivers and Kevin Young.
Part of the speculation for the Mavs as an option for Vogel involved the relationship that Vogel has established with Kidd from when the Hall of Fame guard was an assistant coach on Vogel's staff with the Lakers. Vogel, who did not coach during the 2022-23 season, had observed multiple days of Mavs training camp in September.
The Mavs' search to find a new lead assistant coach will continue with Vogel no longer being on the market. The Toronto Raptors are now the final NBA team with a head coaching vacancy in a landscape that featured significant turnover.
Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).
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