AP Photo/Nell Redmond

Suns Rumors: Nick Nurse, Doc Rivers, Frank Vogel Among HC Finalists

Paul Kasabian

Former NBA head coaches Nick Nurse, Doc Rivers and Frank Vogel are among the five finalists for the Phoenix Suns' open head coaching position, per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic. Sacramento Kings assistant coach Jordi Fernandez and Suns assistant coach Kevin Young are also in the running.

The Suns are in the market for a new head coach after parting ways with Monty Williams after four seasons.

Nurse, 55, most recently led the Toronto Raptors as their head coach for five seasons, leading the team to its first-ever championship in 2019. He went 227-163 during his time in Toronto, including a 53-19 season in 2019-2020. Nurse was an assistant with the Raptors for five seasons before getting the head coaching gig.

Rivers, 61, just guided the Philadelphia 76ers as their head coach for three campaigns. He's also coached the Orlando Magic (1999-2003), Boston Celtics (2004-2013) and Los Angeles Clippers (2013-2020), winning a championship with the C's in 2008. His teams have missed the playoffs just once after the 2006-07 season.

Vogel, 49, has been a head coach for the Indiana Pacers (2011-2016), Orlando Magic (2016-2018) and Los Angeles Lakers (2019-2022). He won an NBA championship with the Lakers in 2020 and led the Pacers to back-to-back conference finals appearances in 2012 and 2013.

Fernández, 40, served as the Denver Nuggets' assistant coach from 2016-2022 before moving onto Mike Brown's staff on the Sacramento Kings, who just made the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. He also posted back-to-back 31-19 seasons as the head coach for the G League's Canton Charge in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Young has been the Suns' associate head coach for the past two seasons after initially joining Williams' staff as an assistant in 2020. He also worked as the 76ers' assistant head coach under Brett Brown from 2016-2020. Young has worked as a head coach in the G League ranks for the Utah Flash (2010-2011), Iowa Energy (2011-2013) and Delaware 87ers (2014-2016).

All are finalists for an enticing job with a star-powered team led by Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, which made the second round of the playoffs before losing to the eventual Western Conference champion Nuggets.

   

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