Alvin Gentry allegedly “Parted Ways” Mutually with the Suns according to earlier reports but at this point in times it has been confirmed that he was fired by the organization and didn’t depart on a mutual agreement.

So with Gentry now out of the picture the Suns will be in a hunt for a new coach, well interim coach. The Suns, according to multiple sources are set to announce a new head coach on Sunday(Perhaps even earlier than that).

Several candidates immediately come to mind. First being defensive assistant coach Elston Turner who joined the Suns coaching staff last season and made strides with the Suns defensively. In fact his good work with the Suns defense nearly earned him the job as a head coach with a several teams around the NBA this past off-season but Turner ultimately lost out to other candidates.

Another popular name that’s been around the rumor mill who many believe should be the Suns new head coach is player development coach, Lindsey Hunter. Hunter was signed by the Suns this off-season to build the Suns player development program.

Finally one name that hasn’t been mentioned much but someone I’d personally endorse is Dan Marjele. Marjele has been an assistant with the Suns for quite some time now; not to mention Marjele is also apart of the Suns’ Ring Of Honors. Marjele long history of success with the Suns both as part of the coaching staff and as a player should earn him a chance to lead the team as the head coach(at least for the remainder of the season).

The Suns aren’t really in search for a permanent replacement as of right now given the circumstances. Under these conditions it’s almost a perfect time to give someone like Dan Marjele a shot. Should he fail to achieve some form of success, no damage done, the Suns aren’t competing for the Larry O’Brien Trophy this season anyways. What’s there to lose?

Should the Suns decide not to promote one of their current coaching staff members to the head coach position, other candidates such as Jeff & Stan Van Gundy, Nate McMillan, and Mike Malone are all atop the list as potential candidates. Dan Marjele deserves a shot. Marjele has had such a long history with the Suns, it’s almost an slap in the face to Marjele if the Suns didn’t at least consult with him about the head coaching position. Stick and stay with Sun-N-Gun.com for any updates on the Suns current situation.

July 18, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; New Orleans Hornets forward Lance Thomas (42) and guard Austin Freeman (26) battle with Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris (11) for a rebound during the first half of the game at Thomas

The Suns dropped their second straight game in a loss to the New Orleans Hornets yesterday 78 – 61, the Suns shot poorly from the field as they shot only 33%. The Suns had an poor overall game and for the second straight game Kendall Marshall  struggled to run the offense and Markieff Morris’ also struggled shooting from the field as he made only 4-13 shots and 1-5 from the 3-point line, grabbing only six rebounds and have four turnovers in about 25 minutes of action.

Despite Marshall’s struggles with running the offense and Morris’ struggle with efficiency, the Suns had some other role players step up; Marcus Landry shot 4-9 from the field and scored 11 points and also grab five rebounds. It’s clear at this point the Suns’ still have a lot of work to do but the silver-lining is that the Suns’ also have a lot of time to do it. Marshall will probably but backup Goran Dragic to start the year as he’ll need time to get use to the flow of the NBA game.

New Orleans seemed a step faster than the Suns the entire game and had an advantage in nearly every category, the Hornets shot better from the field, three point line, and the free-throw line. They also out rebounded the Suns by 12. The Hornets set the tone early as they raced out to a 13-2 lead half way through the first quarter and held the Suns at bay since. The Suns will play two more games in the next two days, they play tomorrow night against the NBA D-League team and they will finish off by playing against the Memphis Grizzles on Saturday.

The next two days will be very crucial for few players on the Suns summer team roster, Charles Garcia, DeShawn Sims, Diante Garrett and Marcus Landry will need to finish strong and show that they can play at the next level.

Diante Garrett was solid in his first start in the suns win against the New York Knicks during the Suns first summer league game and ever since he’s been backing up Kendall Marshall and he hasn’t been as effective. DeShawn Sims also struggled in the past couple of games, Charles Garcia showed that he has plenty of energy, is tenacious and just overall bulldog on both ends of the floor the next two days will be very crucial for guys like to Charles Garcia, Diante Garret and DeShawn Sims as their play with likely determine which one of them will play in the NBA next year, however it’s clear at this point that between Garret, Sims, Garcia and Landry; Landry is in the lead.