The NBA's Phoenix Suns have fired their head coach Monty Williams after they were eliminated from the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets 4-2 in the Western Conference semifinals, the team announced on Saturday.

"We are filled with gratitude for everything Monty has contributed to the Suns and to the Valley community," the team's president of basketball operations, James Jones, said in a statement.

ESPN revealed that Mat Ishbia, who bought the Suns earlier this season, made the decision of dismissing Williams after losing to the Nuggets 125-100 in Game 6 of the series on Thursday. He had Jones tell Williams the news on Saturday.

Only two years ago, Williams was named the NBA Coach of the Year after leading the Suns back to the playoffs in 11 years and all the way to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks. Then in the following 2021-22 campaign, the team set a new regular season wins record of 64 but were eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks 4-3 in the West semifinals. They suffered two big losses of 113-86 and 123-90 in Game 6 and Game 7, respectively.

The Suns' performances in the four seasons under Williams said something about his merits and inferiorities in coaching. He is an apparent players' coach who can motivate most of his players – except Deandre Ayton – to do their best on the court. However, when the regular style doesn't work, Williams is unable to yell his players up in the locker room or on a timeout. Neither does he have enough tricks to improvise and make a difference in the middle of the game.

The Suns finished the 2022-23 regular season with a 45-37 record, ranking fourth in the West. Injured key players, like Devin Booker, who sustained a left groin strain, held the team back. They completed a blockbuster trade in mid-February to land Kevin Durant but only had him play eight games due to injury before the postseason began, thus creating a lack of chemistry between him and the rest of the team.

Injury hit the Suns again in the West semifinals, as Chris Paul has not played since Game 3. The team had to count on the individual performances of Booker and Durant to win two games against the Nuggets, but there is a limit to how much two players can contribute on their own.

"I take that personally, not having our team ready to play in the biggest game of the year," Williams said after Thursday's loss. "That's something that I pride myself on, and it just didn't happen."

The Suns have set their sights on the NBA Championship next season, which might be possible as long as they have Durant on their roster. He and Booker still have many years left on their current contracts with the team. As for Paul, he still has two years left of his deal, but only half of his $30.8 million salary for the 2023-24 season is guaranteed. None of his last year of pay is guaranteed. Considering that he is already 38 years old and has shown obvious signs of slipping, the team may understandably trade him.

Ayton will be a big headache for the Suns during the offseason. His underperformance during the playoffs is one of the major reasons behind their loss against the Nuggets. His lack of offensive aggressiveness and defensive passion, as well as negative body language all frustrated the team. The Suns should either count on a new head coach to help him cheer up soon or get on trading him before he further damages his market value.