Frank Vogel’s full Phoenix Suns coaching staff completed
Jun 21, 2023, 12:36 PM
Frank Vogel during his introductory press conference as Phoenix Suns head coach. (Screenshot)
(Screenshot)
The Phoenix Suns on Wednesday named Frank Vogel’s completed coaching staff that features associate head coach Kevin Young and two-time former NBA head coach David Fizdale.
Quinton Crawford, Miles Simon, Greg St. Jean, John Lucas III, Dru Anthrop and Jon Pastorek are the other assistant coaches.
Anthrop and Pastorek were previously unreported names added to Vogel’s staff. They have a recent background with Vogel.
“I am thrilled with the coaching staff that we have assembled,” said Vogel said in a release. “Each person brings their own unique skills and experiences to form this dynamic group that will connect with and elevate our players as we set out to develop a championship culture.”
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Anthrop was previously a head video coordinator and development coach in Los Angeles. He played basketball at Purdue from 2009-13 and also was on Vogel’s Orlando Magic staff and spent a stint with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Pastorek worked in the film room and on the development staff of the Lakers for the past six years.
Young is the top assistant and associate head coach, where he is reportedly making $2 million per year, most in the league for an assistant.
He was a finalist for the head coaching job alongside Doc Rivers before Vogel was given the title.
Young worked under former Suns head coach Monty Williams for three years before Williams was fired in mid-May. After lead assistant Willie Green took the top gig with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2021, Young was elevated from a standard assistant position to associate head coach.
Fizdale, 48, had spent last season as an associate general manager for the Utah Jazz. He left his post in Utah after, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the “Suns made a significant financial play.”
Led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Fizdale and the Heat won the 2012 and 2013 NBA titles under head coach Erik Spoelstra.
Fizdale was also an assistant coach under Vogel in 2021-22. Prior to that job, he was head coach for the Knicks (2018-19) and Grizzlies (2016-17) but didn’t make it deep into his second season with either of those squads.
He holds a 71-134 record as head coach.
He knows current Phoenix president of basketball operations and GM James Jones from his run with the Miami Heat in 2008-16. Jones played for Miami from 2008-14.
Simon as a player won the 1997 national championship with the Arizona Wildcats and played there from 1994-98. He went pro for one season in the NBA with the Orlando Magic as well as five seasons overseas.
He was eventually brought on as an assistant coach on Lute Olson’s staff with the Wildcats in 2005.
Simon joined ESPN as an analyst before being added to Vogel’s staff in Los Angeles in 2017 and was part of the NBA Finals win in 2020. He was then named the head coach of South Bay Lakers in 2021.
Lucas, son of legendary NBA coach John Lucas II, played professional basketball from 2005-17 before joining the Minnesota Timberwolves as a player development coach in 2017.
He stayed in Minnesota until he packed his bags to join Vogel in L.A. in 2021.
St. Jean spent the past two years with the Dallas Mavericks but the two prior seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers as a player development coach and advance scout.
