PHOENIX — Last week, Mat Ishbia talked for nearly 30 minutes about how well positioned the Phoenix Suns are. How close they are to a championship. He mocked national commentary that suggested the organization’s house is on fire. The Suns, he said, are in great shape.

A week later, Ishbia and general manager James Jones fired the head coach, dismissing Frank Vogel after one disappointing season. Expected to contend for a title, Phoenix was a first-round flameout, eliminated and mostly uncompetitive in four games against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Someone had to take the fall. On Thursday, Vogel was that person.

A grinder who began his NBA career in the video room, Vogel did not have much of a chance in the desert. He was a defensive-minded coach with a defensive-challenged roster. He expected a scrappiness the Suns, built around the star power of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, could not deliver. In addition, the Suns lacked a true point guard. They did not have a strong bench. These were the least of Vogel’s problems.

As the season unfolded and frustration mounted, players lost trust in the head coach. A lot of this happened behind closed doors, but it also could be seen during games. How players reacted to Vogel during timeouts or when coming off the court revealed a fatal disconnect. What the Suns didn’t say publicly was reflected in their body language.

With Phoenix’s “Big 3” locked in for $150 million next season, Ishbia made the only major move he could make. A head coach and a lost locker room cannot coexist, especially if that locker room lacks the leadership to sort through such things. Vogel might have deserved better, but he had to go, a scapegoat for all that went wrong. This is how it usually works.

Give Ishbia credit for making a difficult decision — Vogel was his hire, after all, signed to a five-year deal last June — but don’t let him off the hook. Since he assumed ownership of the organization, he has made the Suns impossible to ignore, attracting the WNBA and NBA All-Star Games to the desert, putting games on free television and upgrading facilities. But despite the upbeat message delivered last week, the basketball product has suffered mostly because of moves he pursued or approved. Two years removed from the NBA Finals, Phoenix last season lost in the Western Conference semifinals to eventual champ Denver. This season they didn’t win a single postseason game. That Minnesota has gone on to take a 2-0 series lead against reigning champ Denver in the semifinals should not change anyone’s view. Regardless of first-round matchup, the Suns weren’t advancing far.

After their Game 4 elimination loss, the “Big 3” and others discussed the importance of continuity and the benefits of building off experience. Durant pointed out that Minnesota, Denver, Boston and Oklahoma City, among others, had played together for two or three seasons and that he looked forward to similar team building. Guard Grayson Allen agreed. The Suns, he said, learned what works and what does not.

The problem is Phoenix has been stuck, wheels spinning, in this mode since acquiring Durant at the 2023 trade deadline. “Figuring it out” has become an organization motto, a promise for a day that never comes. Last year the Suns insisted they fell short because they did not have enough time to fully integrate Durant. This year they struggled because they didn’t have enough time to fully integrate Beal, who missed 29 games because of injury, or to develop the chemistry needed to reach a higher level.

Next season they’ll have a new coach.

Ishbia has been great for Phoenix mostly because he’s proved that he’s not afraid to spend, to do whatever it takes to produce the franchise’s first championship. That’s all fans want, but the moves have to pay off. A team expected to contend cannot narrowly avoid the Play-In Tournament. It cannot get swept in the first round no matter how well the opponent plays. That’s what made last week’s season-ending news conference with Ishbia so bizarre. He talked as if the Suns were right on track, that everything here was rosy. The conviction was admirable but the message bombed. And for the first time, Ishbia lost some trust within the fan base.

Decades ago, when this franchise was in its infancy, then-GM Jerry Colangelo interviewed three head-coaching candidates. The first was K.C. Jones, a former player and eight-time NBA champion. The second was University of Washington head coach Tex Winter, inventor of the triple-post offense. The third was Kansas State coach Cotton Fitzsimmons. Of the three, Fitzsimmons stood out as the best communicator, the type who could adjust to a roster, talented or flawed, and get the best out of it. He got the job, and eventually, through two stints in Phoenix, became one of the best coaches in franchise history.

That’s what Phoenix needs. A head coach who can connect. He’ll need a strong staff that can help the Suns defensively. He’ll need to convince role players to buy in and do the dirty work. But more than anything, the new head coach will need to connect with Booker, Durant and Beal and maximize their offensive potential. It may not get Phoenix a championship, but it’s how these Suns are built. And for now, it’s their only hope.

(Photo of Frank Vogel: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)