Friday, Nov. 15, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Going winless in eight games makes that possibility true for the wrong reasons, and Cotton Fitzsimmons took full responsibility.
Fitzsimmons, 65, resigned Thursday, effective after the game the Suns lost 92-89 to Vancouver, and handed the team over to assistant Danny Ainge, 37.
Ainge, who says his last experience as a head coach was with eighth graders, was to have inherited the team at the end of the season, but the Suns' worst start in 11 years led Fitzsimmons to halt his 21st season early.
"I made the decision last Saturday after the (112-95) Philadelphia loss," Fitzsimmons said. "I was embarrassed by the way we played."
And though Fitzsimmons said he takes full responsibility for where the Suns are now, neither Ainge nor Suns president Jerry Colangelo agreed.
"This isn't his fault," Colangelo said. "We haven't had certain people play up to par, we've had a terrible schedule, and we haven't had a roster that was healthy."
Ainge, who helped the Suns reach the playoffs in 1993 as a player, took a similar position.
"It's certainly not Cotton's fault we started this way. He isn't responsible for one loss," Ainge said.
Fitzsimmons, No. 7 in NBA coaching victories, was optimistic before the season started two weeks ago.
"I like to see something come from nothing," he said. "Maybe that's one reason I'm so pumped up this year. The challenge to turn another team around is adrenaline to me."
Then the struggle took its toll. "I could see the wear and tear on him. The stress. It concerned me," said Colangelo, who first hired Fitzsimmons in 1970.
Colangelo tried to cheer Fitzsimmons up, but "this was 100 percent Cotton's call," Colangelo said. As for Ainge, he said, "I think he's ready."
Fitzsimmons was disturbed by the team's lackluster play. The Suns, normally a high-octane team, apparently had no passion.
"The fact that I can't get it from them is embarrassing to me as a coach," Fitzsimmons said. "It's embarrassing for the franchise."
Meanwhile, Vancouver got its first win of the year as Blue Edwards scored 34 points.
Former Rebel Greg Anthony added 11 points and Roy Rogers had 10 for Vancouver.
The two teams combined for just 22 points in the second quarter, the second fewest ever scored in the second period of an NBA game.
Rookie Steve Nash led the Suns with 17 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists. Robert Horry had 16 points, and Wesley Person scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter.
The Suns have struggled since trading Charles Barkley to Houston during the off-season. They have yet to score 100 points in a game this season -- another franchise record-low streak -- and rank near the bottom in points allowed, scoring and rebounding.
They also have two centers on the injured list -- Mark Bryant and John "Hot Rod" Williams, and guard Kevin Johnson has been sidelined since undergoing hernia surgery in late September. Power forward A.C. Green has been playing hurt.
Ainge, who is about to get some of those players back, is optimistic.
"It will be a struggle for us to make the playoffs, but we have a chance to do it," said Ainge. He said he would rely heavily on assistant coaches Donn Nelson and Paul Silas.
"And I plan on making changes," he said. "What they will be, I don't know yet. I need to sit down with Donnie and Paul and set down a plan. I do think there's some light ahead.
"We're going to build a foundation, simplify and go from there.
"The biggest challenge for me is just deciding who is going to play," he added. "We've got rebounders, tough guys, shooters. we've got a variety of talent.
"The toughest call, especially when we get our three injured guys back, is to decide how to use them. Sometimes finding the right chemistry is more important than anything else."
Ainge, who has no previous coaching experience, was hired as an assistant in May. He played the final three seasons of his 14-year NBA career with Phoenix before taking a television analyst job with TNT in 1995.
Fitzsimmons, who remains senior vice president of the Suns, coached teams to an 832-775 record during stints with the Atlanta Hawks, Buffalo Braves, Kansas City Kings, San Antonio Spurs and seven-plus seasons with Phoenix.
He also was director of player personnel for Golden State during the 1976-77 season.
He stepped upstairs with the Suns in 1992, allowing protege and former Suns star Paul Westphal to take over a team that included the newly acquired Barkley. Westphal was groomed during four years as an assistant, but he was fired after the injury-plagued 1995-96 team got off to a 14-19 start.
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