Monty Williams was made the strawman for the Phoenix Suns, ending another season as a second-round exit, getting fired from his role after three seasons of strong results.
Many have been critical of the decision by Mat Ishbia to sack Monty, with Stephen Jackson extremely upset at the move. He openly insinuated racial motivations for the firing while discussing it.
“I didn’t think they were gonna get rid of the coach. I think he was the right coach for the job, but you know how they do. When teams come together like this, they are quick to go and find a white coach, just throw him in that position so he can get all the credit. I don’t care, I said it. They do it too much. Every time a Black coach comes into the league, he gets the worst team in the league to start his career off. Under .500, you’ve got a sorry team and his team won’t win, so he’s six years in when he finally gets a star. In a situation like this, they’re always gonna find a white coach like Steve Nash in Brooklyn, where the team is already together. I think Monty Williams is a great coach… They did Monty wrong.”
Stephen Jackson calls out the Suns for firing Monty Williams
“When teams come together like this, they quick to go and find a white coach, just throw him in that position so he can get all the credit.”😯
(Via @IAMATHLETEpod )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 16, 2023
Williams had shown slight chinks in his coaching armor, with the three postseason losses in his three seasons highlighting those. But Monty was the coach that made the Suns a playoff team in the first place and led them to be looked at as one of the best teams in the league, the kind of team Kevin Durant would want to go to.
Did The Suns Make A Mistake?
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant were reportedly consulted on the decision to fire Williams, a surprising move given how well-liked Monty was in the locker room and is around the league. His biggest failure was not being able to unlock Deandre Ayton, something the Suns will hope their next coach can address before the team is forced to trade him for pennies.
Championship-winning coaches Tyronn Lue, Mike Budenholzer, and Nick Nurse are in the running for the Suns’ job, with a surprising report recently that Mat Ishbia is personally courting the services of Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas. That would be a very out-of-left-field signing, but these risky moves have become a trademark of Ishbia’s short tenure as owner.
Monty Williams is in the running for the Milwaukee Bucks’ head coaching position, so it’ll be funny to see an outcome where he and Budenholzer just swap teams after facing each other in the 2021 NBA Finals.
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