Suns GM: 'The losses may come but we need to play harder'
Phoenix Suns general manager Ryan McDonough told reporters Tuesday that it was his recommendation to owner Robert Sarver to fire head coach Jeff Hornacek early Sunday morning and replace him with Earl Watson.
McDonough said he recommend firing Hornacek to Sarver. He said it was difficult because of their relationship. Watson was Hornacek's hire.
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"We expect better effort," McDonough said of the call to part ways with Hornacek after two-plus years. "That's been the concerning part for me ... we haven't scratched and clawed for everything."
Hornacek had been on the hot seat most of this season, one that opened with the Suns hoping to be postseason contenders, but quickly derailing after a season-ending injury to Eric Bledsoe in the midst of a 6-25 stretch.
The team currently ranks fourth-worst in the league in net rating, with the second-highest turnover ratio, per NBA stats.
"The losses may come but we need to play harder," McDonough added. "We need to play the right way."
Watson, who retired from playing in 2014 after a 13-year career, becomes the NBA's youngest current head coach at age 36.
"Everyone could tell from a very young age that he was going to be a coach in the NBA some day," McDonough said of Watson, who joined Hornacek's staff last summer after spending 2014-15 as a D-League assistant.
"Larry Bird actually told me I should be a coach, Watson told reporters. "When Larry tells you something you roll with it."