The Phoenix Suns, with or without Chris Paul at the start, will be in the Western Conference finals next week.
Two years ago, the Suns, in the midst of a decade-long streak without a playoff appearance, won 19 games – and that was with the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft on their roster.
The Suns got Paul, the future Hall of Fame guard, in a trade last fall. But that move was preceded by a bigger one – hiring Monty Williams as head coach in 2019. He’s 85-60 in two seasons there, with Phoenix running over the Lakers and Nuggets in the first two rounds of this year’s postseason. The record, of course, matters. But so does Williams’ utter decency as a man and toughness as a coach. There’s a reason Paul, whose career has had its share of bumps and setbacks, swears by him.
