(PHOTO CREDIT: Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today.)
The NBA can be unforgiving. Here’s another coach being fired in the middle of the night. From Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! and the VERTICAL:
The Phoenix Suns fired coach Jeff Hornacek on Sunday night, league sources told The Vertical.
General manager Ryan McDonough informed Hornacek of the decision upon the Suns’ return to Phoenix after a 91-78 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night.
The loss was the franchise’s 14th straight on the road with a roster decimated with injuries. The Suns have lost 19 of 21.
The interim coach is expected to be one of two assistants, either Corey Gaines or Earl Watson.
Hornacek was in a no-win situation. He was in the last season of his contract with Phoenix. He had been at odds with Markieff Morris this entire season ever since his twin brother got dealt to Detroit. He lost his best player in Eric Bledsoe for the season. And his assistant coaches got fired a few weeks before. It only seemed like a matter of time for Hornacek to go.
Hornacek, who played for Phoenix at the start of his NBA playing career, has an overall record of 101-112 (.474) with Phoenix. He surprised everybody by leading the Suns to a 48-34 record his first season when everyone expected them to be one of the three worst teams in the league before dropping down to 39-43 in his second season. The Suns are currently 14-35.
We’d love to see Hornacek get another chance to coaching another NBA team. Hornacek is the fourth coach to get axed this season.
Follow Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass for all tweets about the NBA and terrible pop music. Also, check out his podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental.
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