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.

Pelicans fire executive Griffin >> 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.

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.

Tonight’s play-in game

ATLANTA AT ORLANDO, 4:30 P.M., TNT

Season series: Tied, 2-2.

BetMGM Sportbook: Orlando by 5.5.

At stake: The winner is the No. 7 seed and opens the playoffs Sunday at No. 2 Boston. The loser will host the Chicago-Miami winner in an elimination game on Friday to decide the No. 8 seed.

Outlook: It’s the third meeting in an eight-day span for these clubs, though Sunday’s regular season finale saw both teams holding out a ton of players because this matchup was already set. In the three other Hawks-Magic games this season, the final margins were six, six and seven points. This format seems to work for Hawks guard Trae Young; he’s 3-1 in play-in games. The good news for the Magic: Teams that enter the play-in as the No. 7 seed have made the playoffs every time.