Ryan McDonough (NBA executive)

Last updated
Ryan McDonough
Personal information
Born (1980-11-20) November 20, 1980 (age 43)
Hingham, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
Career information
College North Carolina
PositionGeneral manager

Ryan Michael McDonough (born November 20, 1980) is the former general manager of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. [1]

Contents

McDonough was hired by the Suns on May 7, 2013. [2] He had previously worked for ten years in the Boston Celtics organization, serving in roles including director of international scouting and assistant general manager to former Suns player and head coach Danny Ainge. [3] Under the assistant general manager role, McDonough would get an NBA Finals championship for the Celtics during the 2007–08 season. In his first season as executive of the Suns, he helped recreate the team to give them a 23-win improvement from the 2012–13 season to the 2013–14 season. Despite that, however, he would end up being runner-up for the NBA Executive of the Year Award to R. C. Buford. While McDonough wouldn't reach the same success that he had in his first season with the Suns throughout the rest of his tenure, he still managed to receive a contract extension with Phoenix on July 19, 2017. [4] He also made the primary decision to draft Deandre Ayton as the Suns' first ever #1 pick in 2018.

McDonough was fired from his job as the Suns' General Manager on October 8, 2018. [5] James Jones and Trevor Bukstein would go on to replace McDonough's position in an interim collaboration of sorts during the 2018–19 NBA season before Jones eventually was hired as the permanent general manager going forward.

McDonough is currently an insider and podcast host for Entercom and RADIO.COM Sports. [6]

Personal life

McDonough is the son of Boston Globe columnist writer Will McDonough, as well as the brother of ESPN sportscaster and former Boston Red Sox sportscaster Sean McDonough and former Arizona Cardinals vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough. [7] Ryan is married to Valerie as of July 24, 2015. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoenix Suns</span> National Basketball Association team in Phoenix, Arizona

The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Suns are the only team in their division not to be based in California. They play their home games at the Footprint Center. The Suns are one of four major league sports teams based in the Phoenix area, but are the only one to bill themselves as representing the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Auerbach</span> American basketball coach and executive (1917–2006)

Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. Auerbach was also the head coach of the Washington Capitols and Tri-Cities Blackhawks. As a coach, Auerbach set NBA records with 938 wins and nine championships. After his coaching retirement in 1966, he served as president and front office executive of the Celtics until his death. As general manager and team president of the Celtics, he won an additional seven NBA titles for a grand total of 16 in a span of 29 years, the most of any individual in NBA history, making him one of the most successful team officials in the history of North American professional sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Ainge</span> American basketball executive and player

Daniel Ray Ainge is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and professional baseball player who serves as an executive for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his 18-year career as general manager for the Boston Celtics, he was known for making bold moves to help the team rebuild, clearing cap space and tanking for picks. Ainge served as the Boston Celtics' president of basketball operations from 2003 until his retirement in 2021, when he was succeeded by incumbent head coach Brad Stevens.

William McDonough was an American sportswriter for The Boston Globe who also worked as an on-air football reporter for CBS and NBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Ryan</span> Sportswriter from the United States (born 1946)

Robert P. Ryan is an American sportswriter, formerly with The Boston Globe, and author. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru, and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston College, Ryan started as a sports intern for the Globe on the same day as Peter Gammons, and later worked with other notable Globe sportswriters Will McDonough and Leigh Montville. In early 2012, Ryan announced his retirement from sports writing after 44 years, effective at the conclusion of the 2012 Summer Olympics. His final column in the Globe was published August 12, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Finley</span> American former basketball player

Michael Howard Finley is an American former professional basketball player who is the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 15 seasons in the NBA, predominantly with the Mavericks, but also for the Phoenix Suns, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Boston Celtics. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Spurs in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin McHale (basketball)</span> American basketball player (born 1957)

Kevin Edward McHale is an American former professional basketball player, coach and analyst who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. Sometimes nicknamed "The Torture Chamber", he is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and is regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Porter</span> American basketball player and coach

Terry Porter is an American former college basketball coach and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was most recently the head men's basketball coach at the University of Portland. A native of Wisconsin, he played college basketball at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point before being drafted 24th by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1985 NBA draft. In Portland, he played ten seasons with two All-Star Game appearances. Porter spent 17 years in the NBA as a player. Following his retirement as a player in 2002, he began coaching in the league. Porter has twice been a head coach, first with his hometown Milwaukee Bucks and then with the Phoenix Suns.

Richard Edward Stokvis, known professionally as Dick Stockton, is an American retired sportscaster. Stockton began his career in Philadelphia, then moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked as the sports director for KDKA-TV. In Boston, he called Celtics games for WBZ-TV and Red Sox games for WSBK-TV before transitioning to national broadcasting, which included calling the 1975 World Series for NBC and later, the NBA Finals for CBS. In a career that spanned over five decades, Stockton worked for several different networks, most prominently CBS Sports, Fox Sports, and Turner Sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Johnson</span> American basketball player (1954–2007)

Dennis Wayne Johnson, nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, and Boston Celtics. He was a coach of the Los Angeles Clippers and an alumnus of Dominguez High School, Los Angeles Harbor College and Pepperdine University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Jones (basketball, born 1980)</span> American basketball executive and former player

James Andrew Jones is an American professional basketball executive and former player. He is both the president of basketball operations and general manager for the Phoenix Suns. He played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jo Jo White</span> American basketball player (1946–2018)

Joseph Henry White was an American basketball player. As an amateur, he played at the University of Kansas, where he was named a second-team All-American twice. White was part of the U.S. men's basketball team during the 1968 Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal with the team.

Gary Nedrow Bender is a retired American sportscaster and 2008 inductee into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. He officially retired, April 13, 2011, from Fox Sports Arizona after 18 years calling the NBA's Phoenix Suns games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Bower (basketball)</span> American basketball coach

Jeffrey Bower is an American professional basketball coach and executive who last served as the vice president of basketball operations for the Phoenix Suns. Bower was also the former general manager for the Detroit Pistons from 2014 to 2018. He also served as the general manager and head coach of the New Orleans Hornets. Bower held the Hornets head coaching position during most of the 2009–10 season, and the general manager position twice, in 2002–03 and from 2005 to 2010.

The 2013–14 NBA season was the Phoenix Suns' 46th season in the NBA. This season marked the first time that purple was not a primary color for the team. It was also the first time since the beginning of the 1987–88 NBA season that the Suns ended up drafting in the top 5 of a draft. In addition, it was the first time since the beginning of the 2000–01 NBA season that the Suns made complete changes in not only their logos, but also their jerseys. When the Suns began the regular season, Goran Dragić, P. J. Tucker, Markieff Morris, and his twin brother Marcus Morris were the only players returning from playing with last season's team. The Phoenix Suns, despite their winning record, failed to make the playoffs. This drew criticism from many fans regarding the conference system with the Atlanta Hawks, a sub-.500 team in the Eastern Conference managing to make the playoffs, with the Suns holding a Top 4 Eastern Conference seeded team had they been a part of that conference that year instead.

The 2014–15 Boston Celtics season was the 69th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA)., The Boston Celtics finished the regular season with a 40–42 won-loss record, which was the 2nd best in the Atlantic division.

The 2017–18 Phoenix Suns season was the 50th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 25th season at the Talking Stick Resort Arena. It was also their third season in five in which the Suns earned a top-five draft pick in the NBA draft, which became the second straight year of gaining the #4 pick in Josh Jackson.

The 2018–19 Phoenix Suns season was the 51st season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 26th season at the Talking Stick Resort Arena. They finished with 19 wins to 63 losses, the franchise's worst regular season record since the inaugural season 1968–69.

References

  1. "Suns Relieve Ryan McDonough of General Manager Duties". NBA.com .
  2. "Suns Name McDonough General Manager". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive. May 7, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  3. Murphy, Mark (May 8, 2013). "C's Ryan McDonough new GM of Suns". bostonherald.com. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  4. "Suns Extend Ryan McDonough as General Manager, Name James Jones Vice President of Basketball Operations". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive. July 19, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  5. "Suns Relieve Ryan McDonough of General Manager Duties". NBA.com. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  6. "Radio.com NBA Show". www.radio.com. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  7. Arizona Cardinals promote Terry McDonough to vice president of player personnel
  8. "Suns basketball boss officially changes from Lon Babby to Ryan McDonough".