Why Nick Nurse is Prime Candidate to Take Over Suns

What makes Nick Nurse a suitable candidate to fill the position of head coach for the Phoenix Suns?

According to senior NBA insider Chris Haynes, Nick Nurse is on the Phoenix Suns' list as a potential candidate for their vacant head coaching position.

Phoenix Suns are formulating a list of head coaching candidates that includes assistant Kevin Young, Mike Budenholzer and Nick Nurse, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 14, 2023

Would Nurse be the right coach for this Suns team, and how do his past experiences make him a more desirable candidate?

Unlike most, Nurse started his head coaching career early at just 23-years-old for Grand View University. Nurse made a name for himself in the British Basketball League where he won championships with the Birmingham Bullets in 1996 and Manchester Giants in 2000.

It was not until 2013 when Nurse finally got a shot in the NBA, serving as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors under Dwane Casey. Following the 2018 playoffs, the Raptors fired Casey and promoted Nurse as the head coach.

That offseason. the Raptors went out and traded for superstar Kawhi Leonard and traded fan favorite DeMar DeRozan in the process. Despite drastic changes being made to the team's core, Nurse was able to rally the team together and Toronto won a championship for the first time in franchise history.

Could he repeat that in Phoenix? 

You don’t become a championship winning coach by accident. Nurse’s unique yet simple formula helped propel the Raptors to their championship in 2019.

“People ask me, you know, 'What's your coaching philosophy?' Nurse said on JJ Redicks’s podcast. “You know it's a big question right? One is that you've got to instill that you're playing to win the game. And right under that I always say 1A is can we increase each player's value in the marketplace? And number one always helps, you know the guys that make the All-Star team are always from winning teams right?

Nick Nurse's coaching philosophy is 🎯 pic.twitter.com/sJD1MvmP0c

— TheOldMan&TheThree (@OldManAndThree) January 4, 2022

“The guys who win the end of the year awards are always from winning teams. I’m not afraid to say that and talk about that to the players a lot. A lot about how we are getting you to another place, to a better contract and a longer contract. Or from the 13th to the ninth man. Ninth man to sixth man. We spend a lot of time trying to get them better. We have to develop them, we have to work with them.”

Nurse’s philosophy seemed to be effective this past season, as six of Toronto’s players averaged double digit points. This could pay dividends for the Suns. After the trade for Kevin Durant, Phoenix seemed to be one dimensional only depending on Durant and Devin Booker to score while the rest of the team struggled to get in on the action.

Depth down the stretch was arguably the Suns’ biggest problem and a huge reason why they were eliminated in the second round to the Denver Nuggets.

With Nurse at the helm, that could all change as he tends to utilize his role players more strategically than Williams, which will take a lot of pressure off Booker and Durant. Nurse also has championship experience, which can help the younger, more inexperienced players better prepare for a deep playoff run.

Nurse’s experience on top of his effective coaching style makes him a prime candidate for the Suns’ coaching vacancy.