Dwyane Wade stunned at Mike Budenholzer's $56,000,000 windfall after Phoenix firing

Modified Apr 16, 2025 18:29 GMT

NBA: Phoenix Suns at Sacramento Kings - Source: Imagn — Mike Budenholzer won't return with the Phoenix Suns - Source: Imagn

For the fourth time in as many years, the Phoenix Suns will enter the season with a new coach.

They made it to the NBA finals with Monty Williams and looked poised for perennial contention before the wheels fell off. Then, Frank Vogel was out after just one season, and the same thing happened to Mike Budenholzer.

Firing two championship-winning coaches in back-to-back years might be unprecedented. To add insult to injury, the Suns will reportedly have to pay Budenholzer $56 million not to coach them.

When the news broke, NBA legend Dwyane Wade took to Instagram to jokingly state that he would get into coaching to make that kind of money. On Wednesday, Wade reshared the post of Courtside Buzz and added a caption:

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"Sheesh!!! I guess I'm going to buy a clipboard today!" Wade wrote.

Mike Budenholzer, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year and an Arizona native, signed a five-year contract with Phoenix before the season started. According to ESPN, the deal is worth at least $50 million,

Per Spotrac, Wade made $196,388,473 as an NBA player, so he's pretty much set for life. Even so, an additional $56 million won't hurt anybody.

Mike Budenholzer didn't 'vibe' with Devin Booker

Despite having a 'big three' of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, the Phoenix Suns didn't make the Play-In Tournament. They finished the season six games below .500 and in 11th spot.

According to ESPN insider Brian Windhorst, a lot of that had to do with Budenholzer not seeing eye-to-eye with Booker:

"I don't think Budenholzer was the biggest problem," Windhorst said on Stephen A. Smith's podcast on Tuesday. "But he certainly did not get the most out of that roster. And I think probably the biggest concern is that he seemed not to connect with Devin Booker."

Windhorst points out that the future of the roster is uncertain. Booker is the face of the franchise, so he will have to be on board with whoever they bring to replace him:

"Going forward, I don't know who will be on that roster," Windhorst added. "Some of the guys I'm not sure that they can change. But I'm sure Devin Booker will be there, and things didn't go well with him and Booker this year, and they have to focus on Booker now. That's gotta be a franchise focus.

"And he and Booker did not vibe. And maybe if they had won, it would have been different."

Durant will reportedly be on the trade block, and trading him might be the only way to retool this roster and go back to playoff contention with Booker at the helm.

About the author

Ernesto Cova is a journalist at Sportskeeda with a PhD in Sports Psychology. His education helped him develop a clearer understanding of the sports world as a whole, including basketball. Ernesto has over eight years of experience in the field, working for Fadeaway World, The Inquisitr, NBA Blast, The Cold Wire and Bolavip, among others.

His favorite team is the Chicago Bulls because of the Michael Jordan era. Jordan is Ernesto's all-time favorite, as he changed the game forever. Ernesto's second favorite was Kobe Bryant because he embodied that same competitive fire and Ernesto watched him play throughout his entire career. Nowadays, Ernesto really likes Stephen Curry, who he believes to be the most influential player of the past 15 years or so.

Ernesto's favorite basketball moment was when Venezuela -- his country -- took down Canada to take home the 2015 FIBA Americas Cup.

When not watching or writing about basketball, Ernesto likes to read and is interested in photography.

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Edited by Kim Daniel Rubinos