Mikal Bridges Says Former Suns HC Monty Williams Wasn’t the Problem

After a hectic couple weeks for the Phoenix Suns, Mikal Bridges weighed in on their shortcomings in the playoffs and the dismissal of Monty Williams

When Mikal Bridges was a member of the Phoenix Suns, he was a fan favorite and was beloved by the entire city.

Once he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in February in a move that brought Kevin Durant to Phoenix, Suns fans still rooted and talked about Bridges like he was their own despite being on a different team. With the Nets, Bridges averaged an impressive 26.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

Bridges may be playing across the country from Phoenix, but has still been keeping tabs on what is going on with the Suns - which includes the dismissal of Monty Williams.

“He’s going to get through it,” Bridges said in an interview on The Pivot Podcast. “He knows he’s a hell of a coach. He probably knows about the situation. Me personally, I say Monty is not the problem, but who am I? Monty’s not the problem, but he’s going to be great somewhere else. He’s going to get another chance and he’s going to be alright.”

Bridges spent the majority of his career playing under Williams and clearly has a strong personal relationship with the veteran coach.

The 26-year-old also went into the Suns’ second-round exit against the Denver Nuggets and the brilliance of Nikola Jokic. When Phoenix swept the Nuggets in 2021, Jokic was a different player. Now, times have changed.

“A lot of our game plan was to let Jokic score because he wants to pass,” Bridges said. “That was a time in his life he really passed up an open shot to kick out for a corner 3. So we were just like, show and make him shoot because he’s like the guy you want to have on your team because he’s a great player, but he just doesn’t feel right trying to score every time or he wants everybody involved.

“Now he’s like, you know what, if you’re going to play me 1-on-1, I’m going to score every single time and I’m not going to miss because I get around the rim, I might shoot 14-of-16.

“So that dynamic right there of him like, OK, you want me to go score, I’m going to score every time.”

Jokic averaged 34.5 points, 13.2 rebounds and 10.3 assists as he dominated Phoenix from start to finish in the series.

Maybe the Suns could have benefited from Bridges’ presence against the Nuggets. Time will only tell if the Suns made the right move by trading Bridges, but there will always be love between Bridges and the entire Valley.