Suns surprise by firing McDonough
The Phoenix Suns fired general manager Ryan McDonough yesterday, eight days before the season begins.
James Jones and Trevor Bukstein will share the GM duties on an interim basis for the Suns. Jones is the team’s vice president of basketball operations and Bukstein was assistant GM under McDonough, who had been in Phoenix since 2013 and was under contract through 2020.
Suns owner Robert Sarver said in a statement announcing the firing that he made the decision “after much thought and a long evaluation of our basketball operations.”
The Suns took Deandre Ayton with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft and gave Devin Booker a $158 million extension during the offseason. Phoenix has had four straight losing seasons and no playoff berth since 2010.
Last year’s 21-61 record was the worst in the NBA and second-worst in franchise history.
But with the addition of Ayton and some other offseason moves, McDonough said at the team’s media day that those days were over and the goal was to make the Suns “the most improved team” in the NBA. But the team has been unsuccessful in acquiring a proven point guard to supplement its otherwise improved lineup.
McDonough and Sarver oversaw the hiring of Igor Kokoskov as head coach in the offseason.
The Suns hired McDonough after three seasons as assistant general manager of the Celtics . . . .
The San Antonio Spurs say point guard Dejounte Murray has a torn ACL in his right knee, a major blow for the team. Murray was San Antonio’s starting point guard, a role he assumed last season over longtime Spurs starter Tony Parker. Parker left as a free agent this summer, signing with Charlotte.
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Misc.: Vols safety has collarbone injury
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The IOC picked its first African host of any Olympics, formally awarding the 2022 Youth Games to Senegal.