For the second straight season, Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns faced an early exit in the playoffs. After the failure, many have started contemplating the roster and coaching changes. In this wake, Shams Charania dropped a bombshell about the Suns potentially replacing their current head coach Frank Vogel. As per him, Kevin Durant was unsatisfied with Vogel’s offensive schemes. He complained about being relegated to the corner which limited his participation.
Advertisement
On the ‘Run It Back’ pod, the NBA insider relayed that the Arizona-based franchise may look beyond Vogel for the 2024-25 season,
“Sources tell me the Suns will consider a coaching change, at the very least, adjustment to Frank Vogel’s coaching style.”
The insider went into Suns’ owner Matt Ishbia’s money splurge that sought to open the floodgates for a championship. However, after a first-round sweep, he will potentially look for wholesale coaching changes. The 2020 champion coach just finished the first year of his five-year/$31 million contract. Thus, bringing in a new coach will further hit the finances.
However, KD is seeking a change in the offensive game plan after Vogel preferred running things through Bradley Beal and Devin Booker as he stood watching in the corner.
“Kevin Durant had real issues with the offense, the way it was ran, him feeling like he was relegated to being in the corner watching Pick and Rolls by Devin Booker, by Bradley Beal,” Charania added.
While the coaching change may help, the 30-year-old insider pointed out that the Suns lacked the leadership. At any rate, it was the destructive power of Anthony Edwards that killed the Suns’ season.
Kevin Durant acknowledged Anthony Edwards
ANT was talking trash to Durant throughout the first-round series. He wanted to tell the 2x Finals MVP that the “future is now” and the old guard must make way for the young blood. Despite Edwards’ constant trash talk, he and Durant shared an elongated hug after the Suns were eliminated in Game 4. During the post-game conference, Durant couldn’t help but admire the 22-year-old for his incredible growth. He dubbed ANT as his “favorite player in the league”,
“He’s 22. His love for the game, he shines bright, and that’s one of the reasons I like him the most, it’s because he loves basketball. He’s grateful to be in this position, he’s taken advantage of every opportunity he’s got. Love everything about Ant, everything,” Durant praised Edwards.
At any rate, the 35-year-old forward will have some tough decisions during the 2024 offseason. Things haven’t worked out for the elite scorer, since he left the Warriors in the 2019 off-season. Despite pairing up with multiple superstars, he hasn’t found the magic akin to his glorious Warriors’ runs.
