👋 GOOD MORNING - Happy Friday! We made it through another week, and I hope yours went well!

If you need a joke to get you through the weekend, that’s what Fridays are for. Did you hear about the guy who got hit on the head by a can of soda? Don’t worry, he was OK. It was a soft drink.

Let’s run it back next week. On to the show!

Top Candidates for the Suns’ Coaching Vacancy

New Suns general manager Brian Gregory had no choice but to swan dive into work right away.

After all, the team still needs its fearless leader.

Gregory’s biggest priority out of the gate is to name a replacement for Mike Budenholzer, who was fired after just one season at the helm. The move wasn’t a surprise considering the Suns finished 10 games under .500 while missing the postseason play-in round, but let’s not forget, the soon-to-be-named coach will be the fourth Phoenix coach in as many seasons.

Yeah, the Suns’ new GM cannot afford to whiff with this hire.

Gregory explicitly stated at his introductory press conference on May 6 that he is in no rush to name a new coach, but azcentral.com beat reporter Duane Rankin wrote on Wednesday that the Suns have “conducted more than 15 interviews during the initial stages of the search and are making ‘great progress.’”

But who is being considered?

No Clear Direction on Favorite Candidates

That depends on who you ask, but HoopsHype NBA Insider Michael Scotto posted on X yesterday that Hornets assistant coach Josh Longstaff is a candidate. That brings with it a somewhat ironic tone considering he was an assistant on Budenholzer’s staff during his time in Milwaukee, but let’s not go down that rabbit hole right now.

In all, Longstaff has worked on four different NBA staffs, spending time in Chicago, Milwaukee, New York and Charlotte, and has head coaching experience in the NBA G-League.

There have been plenty of other names floating around since Budenholzer was let go — and no, it won’t be Steve Nash.

Another intriguing name, however, is Mike Brown, who was fired by Sacramento last season after a 13-18 start to the season. Brown is no stranger to coaching star players, and is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, but his tenure as a head coach has been shaky at times.

Need proof? He owns the distinction of being one of the fastest firings in NBA coaching history after the Lakers let him go just five games into the 2011-12 season.

Seriously, five games.

Another name floating around quite a bit is Mavs assistant coach (and former Sun) Jared Dudley, who enjoyed a 14-year NBA career before entering the coaching ranks in 2021. He has only coached in Dallas to this point, though, and after that thrilling draft lottery, he may think twice before leaving Texas for the Sonoran Desert.

The list goes on. Names like Willie Green and Sam Cassell have floated around since the beginning, but in reality, the organization is doing a pretty darn good job remaining tight-lipped as it ramps up its search.

Sit tight - it may be a while.

My Take: There’s a lot of angst among Suns fans around the timeline and the ultimate hire, but spoiler alert: Even when Gregory does make a decision, it will be put under a microscope of epic proportions. Once the decision is made, our PHNX Suns crew will be all over it, and you can bet you’ll also read about it in this very newsletter. At the end of the day, though, it’s a game of hurry-up-and-wait until the season starts.

Let’s just hope whoever it is makes it more than five games.

Musings From Around (and Sometimes Beyond) The Valley

Game On!: The Mercury kick off their regular season at home tomorrow, hosting the Seattle Storm at 7 pm AZ Time (Arizona’s Family Sports / CBS 5). It’s a new era in The Valley following Diana Taurasi’s retirement, but the team enjoyed an active offseason in which it brought in Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally to help them potentially reload, vs. rebuild.

It won’t be easy. ESPN projects the Mercury to win 19.4 games, giving them just a shade under a 50 percent chance to make the playoffs. Still, I’m ever the eternal optimist, and I think the revamped Big 3 of Thomas, Sabally and Kahleah Copper gives the team a chance to turn some heads this season.

Drafting a Plan: The Suns draft 29th overall in the upcoming NBA Draft, and our ALLCITY team has been hard at work preparing everything you need to know. Presenting: The NBA Diehard Draft Guide — Led by ALLCITY draft analysts Derek Bodner of PHLY and Will Gottlieb of CHGO, this guide is your one-stop-shop as teams across the league gear up to reshape their rosters

Get ready for:

• Over 70 detailed scouting reports from Derek and Will, crafted after months of watching film and talking to people around the league.

• On-the-ground reporting from the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.

• Insightful video breakdowns and draft coverage from the ALLCITY NBA Show and our team-specific shows across the country.

Note the Diehard draft guide is best viewed on desktop or tablet!

Nothing Soft About It: Arizona Softball placed six on the NFCA All-West Region teams, as announced by the association on Thursday. Dakota Kennedy, Devyn Netz and Sydney Stewart were named to the First Team, Regan Shockey and Miranda Stoddard earned Second Team honors, and Kaiah Altmeyer was named to the third team.

The NFCA will announce its All-America Teams on May 28. Congrats!

Sun Devils Also Recognized: The ASU softball team had two players recognized by the NFCA, as pitcher Kenzie Brown was named to the All-West Region First Team, while outfielder Kelsey Hall earned Third Team honors. Congrats to all!

🧢 Tip of the Hat by Branded Bills

Even KD had an opinion on this post.