Mikal Bridges: Fired Suns HC Monty Williams ‘ain’t the problem’
May 22, 2023, 2:41 PM | Updated: 2:41 pm
Mikal Bridges #25 of the Phoenix Suns talks with head coach Monty Williams during the second half of the NBA game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Footprint Center on November 22, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Lakers 115-105. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Here is Mikal Bridges, giving his honest feelings on a podcast for a fresh and desired perspective from a player on a Phoenix Suns development for the second straight offseason.
Bridges was the first player after last year’s brutal Game 7 blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks to admit how embarrassing the defeat was. He also shared the awareness of how he and his teammates would always be linked to it on The Old Man and the Three Podcast with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter (explicit language warning).
One summer later, now as a member of the Brooklyn Nets, Bridges wrapped up his appearance on The Pivot Podcast by offering his two cents on the firing of head coach Monty Williams (explicit language warning).
Bridges spoke earlier in the interview about being traded midseason as a part of the package for Kevin Durant, noting it was tough on him but that he was able to know he’d get through it. He knows Williams will be the same.
“I feel like Monty is one of them guys that I know he’ll be OK,” Bridges said. “Obviously, it’s going to hurt. I’m not no damned robot, obviously that [expletive] hurt but I’ll be OK and I think Monty is the same guy. A lot of adversity, a lot of things he’s been through. This is just another part of it. He’s gonna get through it and he knows he’s a hell of a coach.
“He probably knows about the situation and [expletive] because, me personally, I’d say Monty ain’t the problem. But who the [expletive] am I? I just say Monty ain’t the problem but he’s going to be great somewhere else, he’s going to get another chance and he’s gonna be aight.”
Bridges, a humble guy, isn’t giving himself enough credit for how much he would be able to properly diagnose the blame pie chart for what went wrong in Phoenix the last two postseasons. He’s part of a few dozen people who would have the best shot at the most accurate one.
As you’d expect, he’s a player defending his coach, too. But at the same time, he’s alluding to how this goes far beyond just Williams as the No. 1 reason why the Suns failed to meet expectations and that the notion is incorrect.
Bridges would be the first guy to point the finger at himself after the Dallas series when he averaged 9.9 points across seven contests and his series high was 14. That’s just one example of another piece of the puzzle, which will surely inspire retorts claiming Williams didn’t know how to utilize Bridges’ scoring ability and his breakout two months with Brooklyn is evidence of that.
The discourse is just tireless hamsters running on that stupid wheel at this point.
As of Monday, Phoenix is still going through the process of interviewing candidates, with a handful of other job openings available as well.
