NBA Rumors: Suns to Meet with Bucks' Charles Lee, Warriors' Kenny Atkinson for HC Job

The Phoenix Suns are set to interview at least two more candidates for their vacant head-coaching position.

Per B/R's Chris Haynes, Charles Lee of the Milwaukee Bucks and Kenny Atkinson of the Golden State Warriors will meet with the Suns.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday that Phoenix was "advancing four candidates to a final round of interviews," including former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse and former Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers.

Suns associate head coach Kevin Young and Sacramento Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez were also listed as candidates by Wojnarowski.

Haynes noted the Suns have "yet to reach final stage of interviewing candidates" for their vacancy.

The Suns could have competition for at least two of their reported candidates.

Wojnarowski reported Monday that the Bucks have narrowed their search for Mike Budenholzer's replacement down to a few names, including Nurse and Atkinson. Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin is also in the group.

Lee has been a popular candidate for some time, but he has yet to be hired as an NBA head coach. The 38-year-old is a finalists for the Detroit Pistons' job, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Atkinson has spent the past three seasons as an assistant after stepping down as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets in March 2020. He won an NBA title as an assistant with the Warriors last season.

If the Suns hired Atkinson, they would reunite him with Kevin Durant from their brief time together in Brooklyn. Atkinson didn't coach Durant in a game during the 2019-20 season because the two-time NBA Finals MVP was recovering from a ruptured Achilles.

Atkinson went 118-190 with one playoff appearance in four seasons with the Nets.

Phoenix is seeking a new head coach after firing Monty Williams on May 13 following its second-round playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets. This was the second consecutive year that the Suns got eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals.

The Suns have made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons, the longest streak for the franchise since 2004-05 to 2007-08.