Earl Watson won’t ‘tell family business’ of his firing by Suns
Nov 2, 2017, 1:31 PM
Earl Watson never dwells on the negatives.
He’s continued that approach since the Phoenix Suns fired him three games into the 2017-18 season.
In his first media appearance since general manager Ryan McDonough, owner Robert Sarver and the Suns replaced him with interim Jay Triano, Watson refused to give any details about how his relationship with management soured — or the reasoning the team gave him for firing him.
“I don’t tell family business. It lives and dies in the family,” he told FOX Sports’ Joy Taylor when asked about dealing with the Suns’ ownership led by Robert Sarver. “I will say this: moving forward, I don’t think coaching in the NBA … you have to come close to getting it right. I think what you have to get right in the NBA is personnel.
“Who are you going to put next to Devin Booker? What age is that player going to be, can he handle being the No. 2 guy? And what are his characteristics on and off the court?”
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That, the former coach said, is the challenge for the Suns.
As for his tenure that began with 33 games as interim coach in 2015-16 and 85 games as the head coach, Watson expressed confidence he’d done his job to create a culture around family — a culture that he’s leaving behind intact.
“I think when you get into coaching of the NBA, my task or the focus I had was to create a hope,” he said. “It was never to be married forever. You knew, eventually in the NBA, two to three years, you would be moved — it’s just the history of the NBA unless you’re (Gregg Popovich) or Jerry Sloan. So I think we executed what we wanted to execute. I think management and ownership wanted to go into a different direction, and the details of all of that is family business.”
After taking over for Jeff Hornacek in 2015-16, Watson empowered disgruntled forward Markieff Morris before the Suns swung a trade with the Washington Wizards that earned them a first-round pick in return. He then turned the keys over to Devin Booker, who as a rookie went from hardly playing to focal point of the offense as an 18-year-old.
Following that season, the Suns hired Watson as head coach after deciding against interviewing outside candidates.
He led Phoenix to a 24-58 record last season, and part of that was a result of management shutting down veterans Eric Bledsoe, Tyson Chandler and Brandon Knight.
McDonough admitted in the days after Watson’s firing he and the coach did not have the best relationship.
But by all accounts, Watson was well-liked by his players, even if they struggled responding to him in three losses to begin 2017-18, two of which were by more than 40 points.
Hours before Watson’s firing, Bledsoe tweeted “I Dont wanna be here,” which both player and coach said had nothing to do with the team’s firing of Watson. Bledsoe was sent home a day later and is waiting for the Suns to trade him.
Meanwhile, Watson reflected on the success of his Phoenix tenure.
Watson saw positives in how he handled Morris’ departure. He also took credit for developing Booker into one of the best young scorers in the league.
“The kid came out, Devin Booker, and he struggled, and then he hit his stride,” Watson said of the guard’s rookie season. “We went into the summer. And boldly, we believed as a coaching staff that Devin Booker was the future of the Phoenix Suns, and it was kind of some resistance — no one really saw it — but we put all our stake in Devin Booker.
“The second year we come back, he has 70 (points) at Boston,” the coach added. “And it was a controversial 70. ‘Cause coach, ‘Why do you let him go for 70?’ I knew it would change his life. And if I took the hit for changing his life, great for the future of the NBA, great for the city of Phoenix and the Phoenix Suns — so be it.”
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