Phoenix Suns Reshuffle Leadership After Poor Season

The Phoenix Suns are moving into a new era, disrupting their front office following a disappointing 2024-25 season. Having begun the season with championship hopes, the team came far short of expectations, leading to changes on the sidelines and at the executive level. Thursday featured the franchise making its big shakeup in leadership, promoting several internal voices to new roles, including a new general manager. Names may not ring bells beyond league circles, but the moves reflect owner Mat Ishbia’s desire to reimagine the Suns’ identity — one of grit, resilience, and long-range thinking.

Brian Gregory Takes Over As Suns GM

In its biggest acquisition, Phoenix bumped up Brian Gregory to the level of general manager from vice president of player programming. Gregory, a seasoned NCAA head coach who has coached at Dayton, Georgia Tech and South Florida, joined the Suns front office in 2023. New to NBA front office roles but not to big league decision-making, he became an important voice in player personnel choices quickly, being a leading voice in the drafting of 2024 draft picks Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro. His promotion is a vote of confidence by Ishbia, who cited Gregory’s basketball smarts and leadership as crucial to the future direction of the franchise.

The Suns also promoted Oronde Taliaferro to assistant general manager and expanded the title of Chief Innovation Officer Paul Rivers, adding basketball operations responsibilities. Taliaferro is a 15-year veteran NBA scout who has worked with the Pistons and Nets, while Rivers has a deep lineage of sports executive experience, including a stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder. These three now head the core of a revamped front office with the charge of navigating one of the most important off-seasons in Suns history — one in which nearly every player other than Devin Booker could be on the table.

Most telling, perhaps, is the promotion of former GM James Jones, who helped orchestrate four straight playoff appearances and won Executive of the Year in 2021, to executive advisory status. Jones remains well-liked but firmly becomes secondary, at best, to Ishbia in guiding the team down a new path. This is not a search for continuity — it’s an orchestral organizational reboot.

A Season of High Expectations and Harsh Reality

The Suns were built to contend, around a superstar triple threat of Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. But all that came crumbling down under the weight of miscued chemistry, injuries, and inconsistent coaching. Phoenix finished up 36-46, out of the Western Conference’s top 10, and didn’t even qualify for the play-in tournament. The lackluster performance led to the rapid dismissal of head coach Mike Budenholzer, who lasted only one season — the third coach in three years for the Suns.

Despite the firepower on paper, the Suns played like a team without an identity. Ishbia openly acknowledged the change was necessary after the season was finished, frustrated by the team’s absence of grit and togetherness. “It must have an identity — a Phoenix-like identity,” he explained, mentioning toughness, work ethic, and joy as the missing pieces. With an oversized payroll and little room to maneuver, the front office must now think creatively about redoing the roster, and Durant and Beal’s decisions will frame the franchise’s short- and long-term futures.

For a team that advanced to the 2021 NBA Finals and looked like it was on the cusp of prolonged success, the fall has been precipitous and disconcerting. With Booker seemingly off-the-table in trade talks now, the Suns must think about how they build around him — or if they even want to do that.

Final Thoughts

The Suns’ front office purge is more than a reshuffling — it’s an all-out reboot on the part of Ishbia’s hard-charging ownership. Gregory’s ascension from college coaching to NBA general manager speaks to the team’s desire to think outside the box. The pressure is high, and the room for error is paper-thin. Whether this new-age experiment in contention or collapse is what the future holds is yet to be determined.