The Phoenix Suns fired head coach Earl Watson after a 0-3 start that saw them losing by an average of 30.7 points. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Suns assigned associate head coach Jay Triano as interim coach. Watson finished his two and a half-year stint with the Suns with a 33-85 record. He replaced Jeff Hornacek midway through the 2015-16 season. The 59-year-old Triano previously worked as head coach of the Toronto Raptors from 2008 to 2011, tallying a coaching record of 87-142.

Watson’s firing came after point guard Eric Bledsoe expressed dismay over the team’s dismal campaign.

On his Twitter account, Bledsoe tweeted: “I don’t wanna be here.”

In their first three games, the Suns yielded 128.7 points per game. They were also anemic on offense in their first two games, scoring just 76 and 88 points against the Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Clippers, respectively. The Suns scored 130 points against the Los Angeles Lakers but lost by two points.

Bledsoe dismayed by poor start

The Suns entered the season as one of the teams to watch due to their young and promising lineup of Devin Booker, rookie Josh Jackson, Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, complementing the 27-year-old Bledsoe, T.J. Warren, Alex Len and Tyson Chandler.

In the first three games, Bledsoe averaged 15.7 points, including a 28-point explosion in their loss to the Lakers. However, he was limited to four points on 1-of-4 shooting in their 130-88 loss to the Clippers. In their 124-76 loss to the Blazers, Bledsoe scored 15 points but shot just 5-of-18 from the field. Booker, the team’s leading scorer at 16.7 points per game this season, shot just 26 percent from beyond the arc after making 35 percent of his attempts from three-point range last season.

Bledsoe headed for a reunion with Clippers?

In the offseason, Bledsoe’s name was mentioned in several trade rumors. He was reportedly offered by the Suns for Kyrie Irving when the latter demanded a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, the Cavaliers wanted Jackson or Booker to be part of the package for Irving. After Bledsoe’s tweet, Clippers center DeAndre Jordan tweeted “come back home, bro.”

Bledsoe played three seasons with the Clippers before he was traded in 2013 to the Suns.

The following year, Bledsoe signed a five-year, $70-million contract with the Suns. Bledsoe is scheduled to earn $14.5 million this season. In 421 career games, Bledsoe averaged 13.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists.
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