The Athletic's Doug Haller, Sam Amick and Fred Katz reported that Budenholzer's "contentious relationship with four-time All-Star and franchise centerpiece Devin Booker, as well as several other key players, was seen internally as a major issue" and played a key part in his firing.

The Suns tasked Budenholzer with leading their new big three of Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal on a championship run, but they ended up missing the playoffs entirely. Things never worked out with Budenholzer, and it wasn't a surprise to see him get fired on Monday.

However, ESPN's Brian Windhorst says that Coach Bud also had a disconnect with Suns franchise player Devin Booker, which was the main reason why the Suns' "Big 3" experiment faile