Suns News: Mat Ishbia & James Johnson Make $50 Million+ Mike Budenholzer Signing Official, Lay Out Expectations

The Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia and General Manager James Jones have played a masterstroke by hiring Mike Budenholzer as their new head coach. Mike was the one who led the Milwaukee Bucks to clinch the NBA finals against the Phoenix Suns in 2021. After signing the title-winning coach, the Suns’ front-office members and Mike himself expressed their words of praise and gratitude, respectively.

Honored by the coach position at the Suns, Mike said, “I’m grateful to have a talented roster of players who are ready to compete.” Apparently, Mike was mentioning the trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. GM Jones, on the other hand, was quite excited about Mike joining the Suns, confident that his team “will reach new levels of successes” under Budenholzer’s leadership. Coming to the team owner, Mat Ishbia, has been eyeing the championship from the start as he complimented Mike as “the right leader to reach championship goals.”

Reportedly, Mike has signed a five-year contract with the Suns, bagging more than $50 million, according to the Athletic.

Considering Mat Ishbia’s high expectations for the job, Mike’s role in the team won’t be so easy to maintain, just like Frank Vogel. Despite bringing the Suns to the #6 seed position in the Western Conference, a playoff series loss was enough to sack Vogel from the team. Moreover, Kevin Durant was also not so happy with the latter’s role in the team. Budenholzer will be facing three key players around whom the Suns team revolves with very similar skill sets. The essence of a great team is balance, and Mike might face a lot of trouble in that department.

Will Mike Budenholzer rebuild the team in the Off-season?

Though Phoenix Suns have got $194.1 million for the 2024-25 season in commitment for 7 players, it will be difficult for them to rebuild the team with fresh talent. The reason for the restraint on the Suns is due to the scarcity of future draft picks and constrained cap space. Therefore, Mike might have to lose his star players and trade new talents in exchange for them during the summer. It would help be a great way to build a team that is well-balanced on the court.

Another option that Mike has is to retain the star trio of Durant, Booker, and Bradley on the team and forge chemistry between the players. One of the prime reasons that the Suns looked worse this season was the poor passing. The team landed at the 25th rank in the league in the turnovers committed and points allowed off turnovers. A bond strong enough to trust in their teammates will foster passing ability among the Suns players.

In light of the financial restrictions, the Suns do not have many layout options. However, the star trio always lies on the table to trade and get new prospects. Overall, Mike has to make tough calls this offseason to stand up to the perimeters set up by the Suns owner Mat Ishbia. Can Mike lead the Suns to the championship just like he did with the Bucks?