Suns Explain Why They Fired Frank Vogel

The Phoenix Suns fired Frank Vogel - James Jones was asked why at a press conference.

Apr 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Frank Vogel reacts to a foul / Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns officially introduced Mike Budenholzer as their next leader of the franchise today in front of reporters at a press conference in downtown Phoenix.

Budenholzer and Suns general manager James Jones spoke for nearly 25 minutes on various topics as Phoenix looks to reach new heights in the 2024-25 season.

Among the questions asked today was about Frank Vogel, who served just one year as the organization's leader before being fired. The Suns didn't immediately can Vogel after being swept in the first round of postseason action, though after doing their due diligence, they decided it was best to move on.

"We need to improve in a lot of areas - there wasn't one specific area. By and large it was - we just felt the timing to shift was right," said Jones.

"And we moved quickly to Bud [Mike Budenholzer] just because when we look at our roster and what our roster needs, he fits it."

After Vogel was fired, reports immediately surfaced of Budenholzer being the prime target for Phoenix. The process moved rather fast, as just a couple days passed before Budenholzer was all but locked in on a five-year deal that reportedly is worth over $10 million annually.

"I'm a competitive guy. We talked about this too - throughout the process, Bud must have said 'compete' 95 times in two minutes. Compete every day. Compete in practice. Compete with each other, against each other. Compete against your opponent, but more importantly, compete with yourself. And I thought that that was an area of our team where we could be better. There were spouts where we didn't reach our potential. A lot of that was just the inconsistency and our competitive nature. So that's something we wanted to rectify, and I believe we're getting it right."

Jones - in his short intro before passing the mic over to Budenholzer to field questions - also offered:

"We're here to compete for championships, and I believe with Mike at the front, we'll continue to do that - which is compete for championships."

More from Budenholzer's press conference can be found here.