"Clippers wouldn't mind him being gone" - Stephen A. Smith believes the Phoenix Suns would love to have Tyronn Lue
The Phoenix Suns moved on from coach Monty Williams on May 13 after four seasons with one NBA Finals appearance. The Suns are in the same situation as the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors – all looking for a new coach.
On ESPN's "First Take," Stephen A. Smith provided an interesting update regarding the Suns' coaching search.
"(The Suns) would love to get their hands on Ty Lue," Smith said. "From what I'm hearing out here in LA, the Clippers probably wouldn't mind him being gone, but Ty Lue wouldn't mind being gone. They're just not ready to make that move right now."
After losing to Phoenix in five games in the first round of the playoffs, Ty Lue is still expected to return as the coach of the Clippers. Due to the injuries of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the Clippers fell short of making a deep playoff run. The Clippers were riding on Leonard leading the way against the Suns in the first round, but he suffered a torn meniscus.
When it comes to the Phoenix Suns, they, too, had a disappointing close to a season that had championship aspirations. The Suns lost in six games to Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals.
After reaching the 2021 finals against the Milwaukee Bucks, they lost in the West semis in each of the last two seasons. Last season was perhaps the team's most disappointing finish in Monty Williams' tenure after going up 3-2 in the series against the Dallas Mavericks. The Phoenix Suns lost by 33 points (123-90) in a do-or-die Game 7, resulting in harsh criticism from the fanbase.
With how the search for new coaches is developing each day, it'll be interesting to see if the Clippers join in on the hunt.
Ex-Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams owns up to his team's demise
Similar to last year's finish, the Suns lost in another home blowout. This time, Phoenix fell 125-100 to the Nuggets.
Following the game, Monty Williams took responsibility for how his team underperformed.
"Eighty-one points in the first half was deflating, to just see them score like that and running down the floor getting easy buckets," William said. "That falls on my shoulders – not having us ready to play at the highest level in the biggest game of the year."
After not even a week, Williams was fired by the Phoenix Suns, who look to be aggressive in the offseason under new owner Matt Ishbia.