Suns dismiss Frank Vogel after one season, early playoff exit: 'We needed a different head coach for our team'

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The Phoenix Suns entered the 2023-24 NBA season with hopes a roster featuring Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal and 2020 NBA Finals-winning coach Frank Vogel was primed for a deep playoff run.

But Phoenix was swept in four games in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Less than two weeks after the early postseason exit, the Suns decided to fire Vogel after just one season.

"As we said at the press conference May 1, team leadership, including myself, Josh Bartelstein and ownership would be looking across basketball operations to determine what changes needed to be made," Suns general manager James Jones said in a statement. 

"After a thoughtful review of the season, we concluded that we needed a different head coach for our team. We appreciate Frank’s hard work and commitment."

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Head Coach Frank Vogel of the Los Angeles Lakers during a game against the Denver Nuggets April 10, 2022, at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colo.  (Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

ESPN reported that Mike Budenholzer, who led the Milwaukee Bucks to the 2021 NBA title, could be one of the leading candidates to replace Vogel. The Bucks fired Budenholzer in May 2023 after the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. He did not coach this season.

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The Suns finished this season with a 49-33 record and entered the postseason as a sixth seed. 

Vogel signed a five-year deal with the Suns in June. He was hired after the franchise parted ways with Monty Williams after Phoenix's loss in the Western Conference