Mike Budenholzer is no longer the head coach of the Phoenix Suns, and it sounds like a lot of Suns players may be happy about that.
Veteran NBA writer Chris Haynes reported Friday on an unflattering detail about Budenholzer, who was officially fired as Suns coach earlier this week after just one season in charge. Haynes says that Budenholzer decided to pull seven-footer Bol Bol from the team’s rotation after Bol failed to stand up for his teammates during an altercation against the Houston Rockets in March.
On March 12, Suns center Mason Plumlee got into it with Rockets counterpart Steven Adams and sparked a brawl, which resulted in both players getting ejected (video here). While the skirmish was still ongoing, Bol was spotted shooting layups away from the action while other players rushed in to defend their teammates and separate Plumlee and Adams.
Haynes notes that Budenholzer was “irate” when he learned of Bol’s actions. As a result, Bol did not make another regular rotation appearance for the Suns (outside of garbage time) during the rest of the regular season.
In the month of February, the seven-footer Bol made a strong impact for Phoenix with averages of 12.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. While he is still a very inconsistent player who doesn’t offer much when his shot is not falling, apparently Bol’s failure to show solidarity with his teammates did him in with Budenholzer.
That said, Budenholzer was seemingly extremely unpopular within the Suns organization. Owner Mat Ishbia made some negative comments about Budenholzer after the firing, and multiple Suns stars had reported issues with Budenholzer as well. It is probably safe to say that Bol won’t miss Budenholzer much either.
