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Adrian Wojnarowki of The Vertical and Yahoo Sports is reporting that the Phoenix Suns have fired Head Coach Jeff Hornacek.
The Phoenix Suns fired coach Jeff Hornacek, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) February 1, 2016
From Wojnarowski's Yahoo Sports article:
General manager Ryan McDonough informed Hornacek of the decision upon the Suns' return to Phoenix after a 91-78 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night.
The loss was the franchise's 14th straight on the road with a roster decimated with injuries. The Suns have lost 19 of 21.
The interim coach is expected to be one of two assistants, either Corey Gaines or Earl Watson.
For the 14-35 Suns, the situation turned into an impossible task for Hornacek. A month ago, ownership fired Hornacek's top two assistant coaches, leaving him with an inexperienced staff. The team also lost Eric Bledsoe to a season-ending knee injury and has been dealing with an unhappy Markieff Morris the entire season since his twin, Marcus, was traded in the offseason.
The Suns were missing four players, including their three top scorers in Hornacek's final game as coach.
The Suns posted a 48-34 record in 2013-14, Horacek's first year as head coach. He finished runner-up to San Antonio's Gregg Popovich for Coach of the Year that season. Currently the Suns stand at 14-34, ahead of only the 9-40 Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference.