Why did the Sun choose Vogel? In addition to championship pedigree, tuning defensive ability and experience is key

Originally compiled from: The Athletic

Written by Doug Haller

原标题：How the Suns decided on Frank Vogel, and what he’ll bring to Phoenix

The Suns officially announced Vogel as the team's head coach, after the two sides planned to sign a long-term contract.

PHOENIX — Frank Vogel was interviewed early on by Matt Ishbeia. About 20 minutes in advance. At the time, the rest of the Suns' top brass had not yet arrived at the offices of Ishbea's United Wholesale Mortgage Corporation headquarters in Pontiac, Michigan.

It was Friday, May 26, and nearly two weeks after Ishpeare and general manager James Jones fired Suns head coach Monty Williams, the team that has never won an NBA championship is back on a different path.

Ishbia valued Vogel

Ishbea, 43, took over the Suns and Phoenix Mercury less than 4 months ago, but he has already made his mark. Three days after officially taking over the team, he orchestrated perhaps the biggest deal in Phoenix history, sacrificing a bit of the team's future to acquire Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets while cementing the Suns' current position as a championship contender. Then, two days after the Nuggets beat the Suns in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals, the Phoenix fired Monty.

In his office, Ishbia and Vogel chatted casually while waiting for the others. Although Ishpeare made his fortune in the mortgage business, he has a basketball background dating back to his time under Michigan State coach Tom Izo. Even then, he never knew Vogel. His first impression of Vogel was that he and the others would feel comfortable around Vogel, and that would ultimately help Vogel get a job in Phoenix.

"He can put you at ease right away," Ishbiah told The Athletic.

This is General Manager Jones' sixth year in Suns management, and he doesn't know much about Vogel. A former NBA player, he competed against Vogel's team during his time with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. During the Heat, Jones played supporting roles behind LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, helping the team knock Vogel's Indiana Pacers out, which eventually led to two NBA championships. Since then, Jones has occasionally crossed paths with Vogel, but nothing more. One thing is clear to Jones: People he respects speak highly of the 49-year-old coach. He began to understand why.

Since its founding in 1968, Phoenix has attracted coaches from a variety of basketball backgrounds. In 1970, Cotton Fitzsimmons was just three months away from his final game at Kansas State University before accepting a job with the Phoenix. "I hope to end up in the NBA," he said confidently after being introduced. John McLeod arrived here in 1973 from the University of Oklahoma, where he won 90 games in six seasons. In later years, former NBA players such as Paul Westphal, Danny Ainge and Jeff Honaseck managed the team. And Mike D'Antoni and Igor Kokoskov bring different degrees of international perspective.

The selection process has a similar diversity in basketball. The Suns listened to top college coaches, top NBA assistant coaches and even head coaches. Executives attribute this to the team's geographic location, which is sunny year-round; attributed to Durant and Devin Booker, two of the highest scorers in the sport; It was also attributed to the team's commitment to victory and the fact that the Suns were one step away from a championship.

Under Monty, the Suns reached the 2021 Finals, but they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games. In 2022, they achieved a record 64 wins and entered the playoffs as the top seed. In 2023, they added Durant to a core lineup that includes Booker, point guard Chris Paul and center DeAndrew Ayton. And after losing the Western Conference semifinals two seasons in a row, the team made the decision to change, but it wasn't just because of an embarrassing loss.

"Sometimes you need to inject something, different information, different focus, different perspective," Jones told The Athletic. "You just need someone with a different message and someone who delivers it in a different way. That's sports. ”

Vogel stood out from the top ten candidates

Jones interviewed 10 candidates via Zoom and eventually narrowed the list to Vogel, former Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nas, former Philadelphia coach Rivers, Phoenix assistant coach Kevin Young and Sacramento assistant coach Jody Fernandez. They love Vogel, Nas, and Rivers because they've all won championships. But they equally like the potential of Young and Fernandez.

Throughout the process, Jones and Ishpeare kept players like Durant and Booker informed. This includes the team's vision, the specific selection process, the qualities and characteristics the team is looking for, and what candidates are available.

"We want to make sure they're comfortable with what we're doing," Ishbia said.

"But they believe and trust what we're doing," Jones said.

Over the course of two days, the finalists flew to Michigan for face-to-face interviews. At UWM headquarters, they toured the company campus (Ishpeare did this to showcase the culture he had built within the company) and met with Sun's management team, which included Ishbea, Jones, CEO Josh Bartelstein and others. Vogel's interview lasted nearly three hours.

This coach has been on the road of basketball for most of his life. He grew up in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, a blue-collar neighborhood about a mile from the Atlantic Ocean, and played by a basketball hoop in front of his house. In 2016, physical education teacher and assistant coach of the college basketball team, Andy Ridgeway, told the Orlando Sentinel that the basketball court was "like Frank's paradise." In college, Vogel ended his playing career at Juniata College in Pennsylvania, becoming a team manager and studying under Rick Pitino in Kentucky.

Pitino and University of Kentucky assistant Jim O'Brien became Vogel's ticket to the NBA. He edited videos for the Boston Celtics and progressed through the ranks to assistant coach. Before succeeding O'Brien as Pacers head coach in 2011, he worked under O'Brien, who coached Philadelphia and the Pacers. Later, Vogel coached the Orlando Magic and Lakers, and led the Lakers team of LeBron and Anthony Davis to win the 2020 NBA championship.

During the Michigan interview, Jones took notes. ("You can't trust your memory," he said.) For the general manager, the most prominent thing: Vogel's experience. Vogel has coached young teams, old teams, championship teams, rebuilding teams and injury-ridden teams. Jones was impressed with the way he approached different challenges. But at the same time, Vogel's way of expressing his point of view is unique. He doesn't feel like he's selling. In preparation for the interview, Ishbia spoke with players who had played for Vogel and the boss who hired him. No one said a word negative, which surprised Ishbia, "because we dug deep into him." Jones felt that in the interview.

"The clear answers he gave made you feel like he was very sincere and genuine," Jones said.

After the interview, Ishpeare told Phoenix executives to enjoy Memorial Day weekend, gather their ideas, and they will discuss candidates on a strategy call Tuesday morning. During that time, news broke that Nass had reached a coaching agreement with the 76ers. Jones carefully studied the notes and was confident. Convinced that Vogel is their man. Be sure Vogel has everything they want.

Three advantages about Vogel

Champion pedigree. In addition to winning championships with the Lakers, Vogel twice led the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Experience coaching star players. It's a player-led league that relies on stars to win championships. During his career, Vogel coached LeBron, Davis, Dwight Howard, Russell Westbrook, Paul George and David West. As an assistant coach, he has coached Allen Iverson, Paul Pierce and Jermaine O'Neal.

Defensive adjustment ability. In his 10 seasons as NBA head coach, Vogel's team made seven of the top 10 defensive efficiency lists. Ishbia noticed this while watching footage of Vogel coaching the Pacers. "You can see that he is in complete control of the game," Ishbia said. And Jones didn't even need to look on film; He has experienced races with Pacers firsthand. "He's going to try to limit where you do well without losing the character of his team," he said.

This decision is obvious.

"Attaining, attaining, attaining, attaining." Ishbia said he ticked off the Suns' list of competency requirements during the selection process.

"He's an incredible communicator and great guy," Suns CEO Bartelstein told The Athletic, "but he also has a really great basketball mind to build deep strategy and win games at the highest level." ”

The Suns and Vogel agreed to a five-year, $31.25 million contract. They have since struck a deal with Kevin Young to continue as Vogel's chief assistant coach (Ishpeare said Young was impressed during the interview process) and invited David Fitzdale, Utah Jazz's deputy general manager and former NBA head coach, to the team.

In the more than three weeks since Monty left class, the Sun has taken a big step forward. The next step is to improve the lineup, which will require many difficult decisions to make. But one major problem - the selection of a marshal, has been solved.

"It's always hard," Jones said of firing Williams. "These things are never easy, but in this industry, you know it's a tough road, full of successes and failures. It is indeed difficult. It is difficult to make this decision, but it is necessary. ”

"You have to have the right people," Ishbiah said. "You can't win in business, basketball, or anything without the right people. Frank is the right head coach. Obviously we have some great stars in the team. Everyone has to play their part. Now it's time to get down to earth. ”