Sources: Suns, Budenholzer agree to 5-year deal

Mike Budenholzer has been hired as the next coach of the Phoenix Suns, the team announced Saturday.

Sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday that the sides had agreed on a five-year contract.

Budenholzer is expected to accompany the team to the NBA draft combine in Chicago, which begins this weekend, and work on a coaching staff had already begun, sources said.

Phoenix fired Frank Vogel on Thursday after one season as its coach. The Suns went 49-33 in the regular season then were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs.

The hiring of Budenholzer comes with significant pressure and expectations for the team. The roster has been constructed around Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, bringing championship aspirations and a slim margin for error.

Budenholzer will become the franchise’s third head coach in three seasons, a run that has included owner Mat Ishbia firing Monty Williams and Vogel in successive years. Vogel had four years left on his contract, and the cost of a $200 million-plus payroll only gets steeper with the $20 million-plus left on Vogel’s deal and what is now a substantial deal for the most accomplished head-coaching candidate available.

Budenholzer is from Arizona, and his late father was a well-regarded high school coach in the state. Budenholzer won the 2021 NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks. He had a 271-120 (.693) record in five seasons in Milwaukee and a 213-197 (.520) record in his previous years with the Atlanta Hawks.

Budenholzer, 54, is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, winning for the 2014-15 and 2018-19 seasons.