Four of the Phoenix Suns finalists for the head coaching position are Jordi Fernandez, Nick Nurse, Doc Rivers and Kevin Young, by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Besides, Athleticism Shams Charania noted Frank Vogel as the fifth and final runner-up. Sharania Reports all five will meet with owner Mat Ishbia, general manager James Jones and other team officials in Michigan this week.
Nurse, Rivers and Vogel are the three names with previous NBA head coaching experience. All of them were let go by their former teams, while Fernandez and Young are currently the main assistants.
Nurse served as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors from 2018-23 and was fired in late April. He led them to a championship in 2019, his first stint as an NBA head coach.
Rivers’ fourth head coaching stint in the league was three seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. They were eliminated in the second round of that playoff and Rivers was fired. He won a title lead from the Boston Celtics in 2008.
Vogel hasn’t coached since the Los Angeles Lakers fired him at the end of last season, two years after his first season with the Lakers resulted in a championship. He spent six seasons as head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 2010 to 2016 before two years in Orlando coaching the Magic.
Fernandez is the associate head coach of the Sacramento Kings, a position he got this season after spending the past six years as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets.
The Suns’ associate head coach is Young. His NBA coaching debut was for the Philadelphia 76ers from 2017 to 2020 before coming to Phoenix to work under Monty Williams the following year.
Williams was fired after the Suns were sent to the second round of the playoffs for the second straight year. His four-season record was 194-115.