Suns, Alvin Gentry Part Ways

After getting off to a 13-28 start this season, the Phoenix Suns and head coach Alvin Gentry decided the best thing for the organization was to go in a different direction. Gentry and the club mutually parted ways this week as the Suns fell to the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

Gentry and the team enjoyed plenty of success with Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire, but couldn’t produce wins with the current lineup, one that clearly lacks star power. Gentry went 158-144 in five-plus seasons as the head man for the Suns before agreeing to leave the organization.

“Alvin Gentry is a good coach and a good person,” Suns vice president of basketball operations Lon Babby said. “He was the perfect coach for our previous group. But with the current group, all of us, including Alvin himself, realized that it just wasn’t working, the pieces just weren’t fitting.”

Gentry was disappointed he didn’t meet his own expectations, but left on good terms with the Suns.

“After nine years with the Suns, the organization and I came to a mutual agreement to go in different directions,” Gentry said in a statement via ESPN.com. “I have the utmost respect for Robert and what he’s done with the organization. It’s unfortunate that I was unable to accomplish what I set out to do here.”

The Suns announced they would name an interim coach within 48 hours of Gentry’s departure. They did not specify if that coach would serve out the remainder of the season, but with the Suns currently in last place in the West, they may not be concerned with trying to find a long term replacement this year.

So what does this mean for bettors? Well, for one thing don’t expect the Suns to be very competitive for the rest of this season and look to take advantage of opportunities when other teams are matched up against them. The Suns look like a long term project, one that probably won’t be fixed for quite some time.