When the Suns hired Mike Budenholzer as their head coach last summer, they expected him to bring over the championship grit he had in Milwaukee. But the two-time Coach of the Year has not lived up to the hype so far. Under his leadership, the Phoenix franchise is stuck at the eleventh seed in the West and struggling to book a playoff spot. Moreover, a recent report by media veteran Evan Sidery claimed, “People within the Suns’ organization say Mike Budenholzer is miserable to deal with.”
Sure enough, these speculations have led to concerns about Coach Bud’s future in Phoenix. And amid the rising uncertainty, Mike’s questionable actions toward Center Nick Richards during tonight’s Nuggets clash hurt the head coach’s reputation even more. Well, the incident occurred midway through the third quarter. With Bradley Beal dribbling the ball up the court, Richards set a screen and opened a driving lane for him. However, the shooting guard choked under pressure and hit the side of the backboard, leading to the Nuggets winning possession.
Visibly frustrated after the play, Budenholzer charged into the playing area and surprisingly began yelling at Richards instead of Beal. Even the on-air ESPN announcers noticed the absurd situation, as one said, “Mike Budenholzer coming out near mid court and seems to be barking at Nick Richards. Not sure about offense or defense but not happy with him.” Meanwhile, his colleague revealed how confusing Mike’s actions were for Richards, “I always hated that as a player. You get yelled at when your teammate just shot the ball at the side of the backboard. Not sure Nick Richards fully understands exactly why he was catching an earful right there.”
Well, it is possible that Richards forgot or messed up a set play, which is why Budenholzer acted the way he did. But publicly losing cool on one of his players mid game is not a good look for the head coach in the current circumstances. However, Nick might have been at fault this time because his actions even riled up Devin Booker!
(Developing Story)
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