Phoenix Suns set to hire Frank Vogel as new head coach on five-year, $31M deal

The Phoenix Suns are set to hire Frank Vogel as head coach to replace Monty Williams, sources confirm to The Republic on Friday.

Vogel will receive a five-year, $31-million deal, sources inform The Republic.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski first tweeted the news.

Vogel won an NBA championship coaching the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, but was fired two years later after a 33-49 season in 2021-22. He was one of five finalists for the Suns position.

Vogel didn't coach this 2022-23 season. He did his interview with the Suns last week.

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Known for his defensive philosophy, Vogel has a great work ethic, builds solid relationships with players and has had a history of success beyond winning an NBA championship in the Orlando Bubble.

Vogel, who will turn 50 June 21, is from Wildcrest, New Jersey and went to college at Kentucky where he was a student manager for the men's basketball team.

This is the Suns first major hire under new team owner Mat Ishbia, who bought the NBA franchise and WNBA's Phoenix Mercury for a record $4 billion.

Nick Nurse, Doc Rivers, Suns associate head coach Kevin Young and Sacramento Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez were finalists along with Vogel. Nurse took the head coaching job in Philadelphia this week, replacing Rivers.

Nurse won an NBA title as a head coach in Toronto in 2019 while Rivers did the same in 2008 in Boston.

All-Star Devin Booker has been a supporter of Young as the two have worked together since the 2020-21 season when the Suns reached the finals, but the idea of Phoenix firing Williams and then hiring someone from his staff was also in question even though the Raptors did the same thing when elevating Nurse after letting Dwane Casey go.

Retaining Young as a an assistant might be a wise move for the Suns to keep some continuity.

Vogel has compiled a 431-389 record in 11 NBA seasons as a head coach. This will his fourth head coaching position in the league. Vogel coached Indiana to the playoffs five times in his six seasons there as head coach.

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Vogel was an assistant before replacing Jim O'Brien during the 2010-11 season.

The Pacers reached the playoffs that season. The Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference finals in 2013 and 2014 before losing to LeBron James and the Miami Heat each time. The 2013 series went seven games.

After going 250-181 with the Pacers (2010-16), Vogel coached two seasons in Orlando (2016-18) where he went 54-110 and three with the Lakers (2019-22), going 127-98. The Suns beat the then defending NBA champion Lakers in the first round of the 2021 playoffs.

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Vogel is replacing Williams, who posted an 194-115 record in his four seasons in Phoenix. He coached the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals and the NBA’s best record in the 2021-22 season at 64-18 to set a franchise record for victories.

However, the Suns were 0-3 in elimination games under Williams, losing the last two at home by a combined 58 points. Dallas eliminated the Suns in Game 7 of the 2021 Western Conference semifinals, 123-90, and Denver defeated them in Game 6 of the West semifinals, 125-100.

Williams was fired two days after losing Game 6 to Denver and has since agreed to a six-year, $78.5-million deal to lead the Detroit Pistons.

The deal makes him the highest-paid coach in NBA history.

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Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns to hire Frank Vogel as their new head coach