PHOENIX>> The Phoenix Suns have parted ways with veteran coach Mike Budenholzer following one dismal season that featured a fast start before a maddening slide out of postseason contention for a high-priced roster that included Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.

The Suns made the unsurprising announcement on Monday, one day after the franchise finished with a 36-46 record which put them 11th in the Western Conference.

They lost nine of their last 10 games, failing to qualify for the play-in tournament.

“Competing at the highest level remains our goal, and we failed to meet expectations this season,” the team’s short statement said. “Our fans deserve better. Change is needed.”

The 55-year-old Budenholzer was hired in May, replacing Frank Vogel, who also had a one-year tenure that ended in disappointment. Coach Bud — an Arizona native — won an NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, beating the Suns in six games in the Finals, and the hope was he could finally bring a championship to the desert. He didn’t even come close.

The season started with optimism after the Suns jumped to an 8-1 record, but Durant went down with a calf strain that knocked the team into a tailspin. Even after the 15-time All-Star returned to the lineup a few weeks later, Phoenix was never able to recapture its early momentum.

Budenholzer couldn’t seem to settle on a regular playing rotation with rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro playing big minutes one night and being benched the next. Veteran center Jusuf Nurkic had an awful start to the season before being traded to the Charlotte Hornets.

Pelicans fire basketball operations chief>> The New Orleans Pelicans fired basketball operations chief David Griffin on Monday, ending a six-year chapter during which the club drafted former Duke superstar Zion Williamson but still struggled to win consistently with three different coaches.

Griffin, whose title was executive vice president of basketball operations, leaves his post one day after a 115-100 loss to Oklahoma City that extended the injury-plagued club’s season-ending skid to seven games.

“This was a difficult decision, but one that I feel is necessary at this time to bring a fresh approach to our front office and build a culture that will deliver sustainable success,” Pelicans owner Gayle Benson said in a written statement.

The Pelicans’ 21-61 record — fourth worst in the NBA this season — was the franchise’s second-worst mark since arriving in New Orleans in 2002 and worst since the 2004-05 season, when the club, then called the Hornets, went 18-64.

But the Pelicans’ failures this season appeared less tied to the level of talent on the roster than the health of all of their starters and even prominent reserves.