Suns' Porter likely gone by Monday
The Arizona Republic
There are strong indications that the Suns will have a new head coach leading them at Monday's scheduled afternoon practice.
Although no final decision has been made, the apparent plan is for Suns management to fire Terry Porter - who in his first season has led the Suns to a 28-23 record and ninth place in the Western Conference standings - on Monday.
Because of financial concerns, the replacement probably would come from the staff. Lead assistant Alvin Gentry would be the likely successor, not General Manager Steve Kerr, as has been reported.
Gentry and assistant Bill Cartwright have previous head-coaching experience, but Gentry has been with Phoenix since 2004.
Porter has had two shots at his 100th career coaching victory, but the Suns lost both games by 17 points to finish a 6-10 stretch entering the All-Star break. Their past six losses have come by double digits.
He signed a three-year contract in June to be the Suns' coach, but the third year is not guaranteed. The Suns would eat about $2 million of Porter's salary by firing him. He was the only experienced head coach among the finalists for the job, which was vacated in the off-season by Mike D'Antoni.
The timing seems ideal for a new coach, with the Suns facing the Los Angeles Clippers (13-40) on Tuesday and Wednesday and Oklahoma City (13-40) on Friday.
There has been speculation that a big change would be coming in the form of a trade involving forward Amaré Stoudemire. Chicago, Houston and Cleveland have been considered the likely trading partners, but a deal with Portland for guard Jerryd Bayless, a first-round draft pick and Raef LaFrentz's expiring, insurance-protected contract has been considered.
Any trade also would not happen until Monday, as the NBA does not want the Suns to act during All-Star weekend in its city.
The Suns' decreasing faith in Porter recently became apparent when Managing Partner Robert Sarver and Kerr took unscheduled cross-country flights to Atlanta to hold meetings with players without Porter, a sign that they did not think the coach was reaching the players.
Porter got off to a bad start with many players during training camp, when his no-nonsense approach, basic drills and changes in philosophy ruffled some, especially veterans.
The players had asked for more of a defensive emphasis and accountability after last season's first-round playoff exit under D'Antoni. However, they did not buy in to Porter's program from the beginning. The team is loaded with subpar defensive players and has not improved in that area, and Kerr said that is his biggest disappointment this season.
Porter's attempt to put in a Detroit Pistons-type offense was abandoned after an 11-9 start. Porter allowed point guard Steve Nash to have more control of the ball and push the tempo more, although he still wanted center Shaquille O'Neal to regularly have post-up opportunities. Nash and teammates pitched their cases in public that the team was built to run, and they got their wishes.
The Suns won more in December, but Porter did not win their respect.
Guard Raja Bell resisted Porter's ways and forward Boris Diaw was unhappy with his new role. Their attitudes led to the Suns trading them Dec. 12 to Charlotte for guard Jason Richardson. The Suns won nine of their next 12 but lost twice late on defensive mix-ups.
