Phoenix Suns have begun search for new general manager
Feb 27, 2019, 2:42 PM | Updated: 3:46 pm
Phoenix Suns interim GM James Jones sits during an interview with The Doug & Wolf Show on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station on Feb. 11, 2019. (Arizona Sports/Matt Layman)
(Arizona Sports/Matt Layman)
The Phoenix Suns have begun the process of interviewing candidates for their general manager job, 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro has learned.
The possibility remains open for co-interim general managers James Jones and Trevor Bukstein to remain with the team, either as a general manager or in another capacity.
Jones and Bukstein have shared the co-interim GM title ever since the previous general manager, Ryan McDonough, was relieved of his duties on Oct. 8, just days before the start of the regular season.
Gambadoro also reports that the team will have new faces in its basketball operations department prior to the upcoming NBA Draft.
These developments come the day after ESPN’s NBA insider, Adrian Wojnarowski, gave a scathing review of the state of the Suns and their perception in the league, and added that the team has considered adding an experienced front office executive to its basketball operations department but hasn’t begun the process of interviewing candidates.
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“This is an organization that is in a spiral in almost every way,” Wojnarowski said. “It is a concern for the NBA. Owner Robert Sarver has not seemed to learn a lot of lessons throughout the years about his management style, his hands-on nature and his ability to put an infrastructure in place and allow it to build an organization.”
Since the organization fired both McDonough and four basketball evaluation specialists, the staff has made one noted hire of a scout to fill the void: former Suns guard Ronnie Price.
The Suns just recently ended a franchise record 17-game losing streak and are set to have the best odds to win the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft lottery. The dismal season comes on the heals of comments by owner Robert Sarver, who said after McDonough’s firing that it was time for the organization to come out of a rebuild and start winning.
