The Atlanta Hawks are on their third head coach since mutually agreeing to part ways with Mike Budenholzer in 2018.
Five years later, the veteran coach is back on the market.
“BREAKING: The Phoenix Suns have fired head coach Mike Budenholzer after finishing in 11th place with a 36-46 record in his one season, sources tell ESPN,” ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on X on April 14.
That news brought about a host of reactions – and a noteworthy statement from the Suns – one day after the NBA’s regular season concluded.
“Competing at the highest level remains our goal, and we failed to meet expectations this season,” the Suns said in a statement released on X on April 14. “Our fans deserve better. Change is needed.”
The Suns are one of the last teams still trying the three-star plan to a championship.
With Devin Booker already in hand, the Suns acquired Kevin Durant in 2022-23 and added Bradley Beal during the 2023 offseason.
They finished the 2024-25 regular season 36-46, ranking 11th in the Western Conference standings. The Suns have the second most-expensive roster and are the only team not in the playoffs, Play-In Tournament, or draft lottery.
All of this brought former Hawks guard Lou Williams’ comments from March back to light.
“I’m out [on the Suns]. I’m done with it. Because at this point, … the body language isn’t there. The narratives, the comments that are coming out of their camp. You just – it doesn’t give me the confidence. And I played for Bud. I know what type of coach he is,” Williams said on “Run It Back” in March.
“When you kind of hear these little subtle riffs going on between Bud and the players, I understand what’s going on. Bud has a very college coach mentality. He feels like a lot of things stop and goes through him, and that just isn’t how it works in the pros. I’m sure he knows that he’s a championship coach. And especially when you have superstar guys in your locker room, some of the messaging that you might be trying to get across at this point in their careers may not be resonating with these guys. And so you got issues there.”
Williams played for Budenholzer on the Hawks during the 2013-14 season, the players’ final year of his first stint with the Hawks and the coach’s rookie season in the lead chair.
Those Hawks went 38-44 but followed up with a 60-win campaign. Budenholzer was the Coach of the Year in 2014-15 and parted ways with the Hawks amid mutual interest with the Suns – he ultimately withdrew his name from consideration – and the New York Knicks.
Budenholzer won his championship in Year 3 (of five) with the Milwaukee Bucks.
He was fired two years later following a first-round playoff exit. This latest firing follows similar fates for colleagues Mike Malone (Denver Nuggets) and Taylor Jenkins (Memphis Grizzlies).
Perhaps most notably, current Hawks head coach Quin Snyder was an assistant on that 2013-14 Hawks squad. In two full seasons as head coach, Snyder has gone 76-88, winning four more games in 2024-25 than 2023-24 despite a slew of significant injuries and remains well-liked.