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Three games into the season, Earl Watson is out
as coach and Jay Triano will replace him on an interim basis,
the team announced Sunday night.
The Suns lost their first three games, the latest a 130-88
blowout on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday
night.
The Suns' 48-point loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on
Wednesday was the worst opening-night loss in NBA history.
Watson's dismissal is the first firing of an NBA head coach
since 2016.
It is the earliest a coach has been ousted during a season in
league history. Mike Brown was fired by the Los Angeles Lakers
five games into the 2012-13 season.
"I think that we have to become close as a team," Watson
lamented after the 42-point loss Saturday night. "We have to be
real about it. We knew with a young team there was going to be
adversity, but the part that's most disappointing is the lack of
unity."
Watson lasted 118 games with the Suns and had a 33-85 record.
Phoenix finished 24-58 last season. Watson was hired on an
interim basis in 2016 after Jeff Hornacek was fired.
Triano was the associate head coach under Watson. He is expected
to remain interim coach for the remainder of the season, ESPN
reported.
In two-plus seasons as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors,
Triano compiled an 87-142 record. He also has served as Canada's
national coach and for four years as an assistant for the Trail
Blazers.
The Suns, who play the Sacramento Kings on Monday night in
Phoenix, are undergoing a massive rebuilding project under
general manager Ryan McDonough. The roster includes four rookies
and four second-year players.
One of the Suns' veterans, Eric Bledsoe, tweeted before the
firing, "I Don't wanna be here."
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