Suns Reveal Why Monty Williams Was Fired
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns began a new era today under Frank Vogel, who was officially unveiled as the team's next head coach today at an introductory press conference inside of the Footprint Center.
"This is the beginning of a new era in Phoenix Suns basketball and it's going to be an exciting one," said Vogel, accompanied by Suns general manager James Jones on stage.
"We are committed to bringing in championship level talent. I will be committed to bringing a championship level culture both on and off the court. A culture centered around hard work, toughness, intelligence, teamwork, and when we get out there and play we're gonna be scrappy as hell."
Both took turns answering questions for nearly 30 minutes from reporters - one of which was directed towards Jones on why the team decided to move on from Monty Williams, who served as Phoenix's head coach for the previous four seasons before being fired 48 hours after their early playoff exit.
"A hard decision had to be made about where do we go next. And moving forward, I just felt we needed an injection of a different voice - a different energy," said Jones.
"It's really, really just that simple. As we evaluated where we were and where we wanted to go, we just saw a gap and we needed to fill it."
Don't feel too bad for Williams - the Detroit Pistons made him the highest paid coach in the league just recently six-year, $78 million deal.
Williams - the 2022 NBA Coach of the Year - previously led the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals before a franchise record 64 wins in the regular season following.
