Is Suns HC Mike Budenholzer Among NBA's Elite?

The first-year coach brings high hopes to the table for the Suns.

May 17, 2024; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Mike Budenholzer poses alongside General Manager James Jones during a press conference to announce his job as head coach of the Phoenix Suns. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- The opening of training camp for the Phoenix Suns is just a little over 2 weeks away - as 2024 Media Day is on September 30.

With that comes the first stretch of action for Mike Budenholzer - and our first glance at what his squad will look like in 2024-25.

Sam Quinn of CBS Sports believes there is clear value in what the first-year head coach and NBA champion brings to the table - as Budenholzer is placed in the "obvious floor raisers" category.

Much of that reasoning is due to the potentially seamless fit between coach and roster - and he further clarifies that belief below:

"Mike Budenholzer and the Suns might be the perfect match of team and coach. Phoenix took all of the wrong shots last season. Budenholzer teams only take layups and 3s. Budenholzer teams are bad at scoring late in games. The Suns have Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Phoenix has no defensive personnel," wrote Quinn.

"Budenholzer runs the most vanilla defense in basketball, but does it so well and so consistently that it's basically impossible for his teams to hover very far from league average on that end of the floor. Budenholzer underuses his best players.

"Phoenix's best players are injury-prone and should probably play less. Both coach and roster have flaws, but they cover one another up. Both coach and roster have specific gifts, and in this case, they mesh perfectly."

The logic behind this conclusion is very reasonable - as Budenholzer's frequent criticisms surrounding Budenholzer could be patched up by the Suns - from the robust scoring of the Suns' big three to the ability he tends to have to maximize role players.

This comes in the wake of Frank Vogel's dismissal in which team and coach clearly were not on the same page - now Budenholzer looks to come in and flip the script behind a legitimately phenomenal track record of regular season success that was capped off by the NBA title in 2021.

The Suns' preseason opener is set for October 6 - a road date with the Los Angeles Lakers before opening the regular season against the Los Angeles Clippers on October 23.