Phoenix Suns: 5 candidates to be the long-term head coach
2. Jay Triano
Jay Triano has repeatedly said he’s not sure he wants the full-time head coaching gig after this season. He’s simply not a fan of all the extracurricular duties required of any NBA head coach.
"“It’s not just that, it’s the season ticket-holder events and the suite-holder events and the media three times a day on gameday,” he said. “I’m about basketball. I’m envious right now that our assistant coaches are in there getting ready for the game and I’m out here talking to you.”"
However, if Triano continues to put players in a position to be more successful — or, at the very least, collects wins here and there to continue making Earl Watson look so bad in hindsight — he should at least be considered for the job by season’s end.
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Since Triano took over, the Suns are 7-11. That’s not a good record by any means, but aside from a few no-shows, they look like a much more competent team than they ever did under Watson. Phoenix should be wary of promoting their interim to full-time head coach after what happened last time they didn’t do their due diligence, but Triano seems capable.
"“We’ll see how it goes,” Triano said. “But I’m going to embrace this 100 percent and dive into it like I have everything else in my career.”"
There are still some questionable decisions to sift through. Is he starting Greg Monroe alongside Tyson Chandler to boost Moose’s trade value, or does he legitimately think that will work?
Is his no-nonsense approach good for more brooding players like Marquese Chriss, or will being yanked while Dragan Bender plays ample minutes hurt his confidence?
And can he rein in Josh Jackson, make life easier for Devin Booker and coax some type of serviceable defense out of this group on a nightly basis? Unless Phoenix quickly hires our next option at No. 1, it has the rest of the season to dwell on these questions and search for some answers.