Report: Former Suns HC Earl Watson finalizing deal to join Raptors’ staff

Former Phoenix Suns head coach Earl Watson is reportedly going to be back to coaching in the NBA.

Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes is reporting that Watson is finalizing a deal to join the Toronto Raptors’ staff.

Watson got his first go at being a head coach in the NBA with Phoenix from 2015-18. He joined the Suns as an assistant coach in the summer of 2015 before replacing a fired Jeff Hornacek as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2015-16 season.

After a 9-24 record, Watson was brought back on a three-year deal. Phoenix hired Watson without conducting an extensive interview process for the opening. General manager at the time Ryan McDonough said it was a move that the players in the locker room pushed for.

Watson went 24-58 the next year in his lone full season as a head coach.

He stuck around for the following season in 2017-18, but only for three games. The Suns lost their home opener 124-76 to the Portland Trail Blazers, and after a tight loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, they dropped their first road game by 42 points to the Los Angeles Clippers. After that defeat, Watson was fired.

Jay Triano took over on an interim basis for the rest of that year. Igor Kokoskov was hired the next season, and one year later, he was fired and replaced by Monty Williams.

Prior to joining the Suns’ staff in 2015, Watson had coached the San Antonio Spurs’ G League affiliate in the 2014-15 season.

Watson had a 13-year playing career from 2001-14, averaging 6.4 points per game across six different franchises.

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