Phoenix Suns didn’t take long to start making changes after another unsuccessful season. The team announced on Monday night that they have fired their head coach Igor Kokoskov. The 47-year-old Serbian spent just one full season with the Suns.
“After extensive evaluation, I determined it is best to move in a different direction with our head coaching position,” – said Suns general manager James Jones. “I want to thank Igor for his work this past season and wish him the best with his future endeavors.”
According to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, Suns decided to fire Kokoskov now so they could pursuit Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Monty Williams. Phoenix wanted to act quickly as Williams recently emerges as one of the top candidates for the head coaching vacancy with Los Angeles Lakers.
Igor Kokoskov spent the majority of his coaching career as an assistant in the NBA, working with Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz among other organizations. He also served as a head coach for Slovenia men’s basketball team with whom he managed to win an unlikely EuroBasket title in 2017.
Kokoskov was hired as Phoenix Suns’ head coach in May 2018 and was tasked with transforming one of the worst teams in the NBA into a contender once again. That turned out to be an impossible task since roster lacked proper solutions at a point guard position and organization showed signs of deep dysfunction.
Suns ended the 2018/19 regular season last in the Western Conference with a 19-63 record. This extended the franchise’s postseason drought to nine seasons.
