PHOENIX — Suns head coach Frank Vogel expressed strong confidence Sunday that he will return for the 2024-25 season.
Ahead of what ended up being Phoenix’s last game of the season — a Game 4 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves that ends 2023-24 in a sweep — Vogel was asked if he believed he would be back for a second season to see through what the team has installed and built.
“Very. I’ve got the full support of Mat Ishbia,” he said of the Suns owner prior to an elimination Game 4 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Why is Frank Vogel being asked about a potential firing as Suns coach?
Phoenix won 49 games in the regular season and finished in the No. 6 seed of the Western Conference.
The team ranked No. 10 in offensive rating and No. 13 in defensive rating during the regular season, landing it at No. 8 in net rating.
The offensive statistics fell far below expectations for a roster touting Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.
Arguably, the defensive rating was above expectations considering the lack of defensive-first players on the roster. Yet it’s not surprising considering Vogel’s background as a defensive-minded coach.
Either way, the Suns’ inconsistencies on both ends that plagued them from the start of the season into the playoffs is good reason why Vogel’s job has been in question.
While they have for quarter- or half-long stretches showed signs of being a competitive playoff contender, they on the other end of the spectrum have showed confounding displays of spiraling when things go bad — it’s shown in all three games against Minnesota.
After Game 4, the Suns had few answers for why another tanking of a third quarter happened to them.
Vogel’s job status took the spotlight heading into the elimination game at home Sunday when ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on the network that people around the league believe Vogel’s job status could change if Phoenix is eliminiated.
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