News broke on Saturday night that the Phoenix Suns and head coach Monty Williams were parting ways.
Williams has the NBA’s best record over the last three seasons. And while the Suns may be moving on from Chris Paul, they still have Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on the roster. This isn’t exactly a rebuilding team.
That begs the question. Who might new owner Mat Ishbia target to replace Williams and get Phoenix over the hump?
NBA Insider Marc Stein reported on Saturday that “The Suns, league sources say, are expected to explore the feasibility of trying to lure Tyronn Lue away from the Clippers after tonight’s abrupt dismissal of Monty Williams as coach.”
The Suns, league sources say, are expected to explore the feasibility of trying to lure Tyronn Lue away from the Clippers after tonight's abrupt dismissal of Monty Williams as coach.
More NBA from me: https://t.co/A6ycVmnrjq
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 14, 2023
The NBA world had a big reaction to the news.
Ty Lue in Phoenix would be the dream scenario. https://t.co/fIBDrq2G1Y
— Suns Nation (@SunsNationNBA) May 14, 2023
This' very interesting… https://t.co/wGNRAVn2ip
— Stephen PridGeon ☯️🏁 (@StayTrueSDot3) May 14, 2023
I think Ty Lue is potentially the 2nd best coach in the league behind only Spo. if this is a possibility we gotta do everything possible to execute https://t.co/fmJH4teKu8
— Jordan Go-Kart⚜️ (@J_Kartch) May 14, 2023
This is going to be a wild off season https://t.co/LkF11PUIJ8
— Pro Pels Talk (@ProPelsTalk) May 14, 2023
Said this the minute it happened. As much as Booker and Durant spoke highly of Ty Lue during the first round, I think this is a really good possibility. https://t.co/8eJX8iVJ4b
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) May 14, 2023
Suns saw how the clippers looked with no kawhi and pg and came away impressed. You just beat Ty lue, then fire your coach to get him. Ty has a ridiculous amount of respect in nba circles.
Imo last year wasn’t his best work but he’s a great coach. A lot of smoke w/ty right now. https://t.co/PxqFjszXzb
— Jamal Cristopher (@JamCristopher) May 14, 2023
Interestingly, the Suns eliminated the Lue-coached Clippers in both the 2021 and 2023 postseasons. But given how short-handed Los Angeles was in 2023, it’s easy to see how Phoenix would have been impressed by Lue, even though the Suns won the series in five games. Lue is also a championship-winning coach, having coached the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA title in 2016 and back to the finals in both 2017 and 2018.
Of course, Lue going to the Suns would depend on more than just mutual interest between the two parties. He’s also under contract with the Clippers for two more seasons. So, Phoenix would need permission from Los Angeles and would likely need to work out some sort of compensation to make this deal happen.
