Suns strike long-term extension with Monty Williams

The Phoenix Suns and head coach Monty Williams have agreed to a long-term contract extension, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Saturday. The exact terms of the deal were not made public, but the extension adds several years onto Williams’ original deal, which had two seasons remaining.

Williams’ figures

Williams has been at the helm during one of the best stretches in franchise history, guiding the Suns to a 2021 NBA Finals appearance and a franchise-best 64 wins last season. He has gone 149-78 (.656 win percentage) in three seasons with Phoenix and was named the 2021-22 NBA Coach of the Year. The Suns earned the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs last season and were considered favourites to return to a second straight Finals but were beaten in seven games by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round.

Phoenix was 19-63 (.232) in 2018-19, the year before Williams was hired, but improved to 34-39 (.466) in his inaugural season with the club, including a memorable 8-0 performance in the NBA’s bubble in the summer of 2020. Chris Paul, whom Williams coached in New Orleans in 2010-11, joined a young Suns core in the ensuing offseason, setting the stage for a championship window.

Phoenix had risked losing a piece of its core earlier this offseason when the Indiana Pacers gave Deandre Ayton a four-year, $133 million offer sheet in restricted free agency, but the Suns matched the offer to retain the former No. 1 overall pick.