After the Phoenix Suns fired head coach Mike Budenholzer this week, reports emerged that a significant reason for his firing was his inability to connect with the locker room and several of his star players, including Bradley Beal.
Chris Haynes reported after the firing that Budenholzer had asked Beal to "model his game" after Boston Celtics' guard Jrue Holiday, who Budenholzer coached on the Milwaukee Bucks. Holiday has taken on a more supportive role for his teammates in recent years after previously being a featured part of the teams he played for. Beal was reportedly unhappy with this request from Budenholzer, putting a strain in the relationship.
Beal reportedly responded, "Don't ever disrespect me like that. Don't ever tell me to play like another player," per 98.7 FM host John Gambadoro.
Holiday has since addressed the report, noting that him and Beal are simply "different players" and Beal has just had "somewhat of an off year."
"I guess I have nothing to say because this is the first time I’m hearing about it," Holiday said, via The Athletic's Jay King. "I think me and Brad are different players. And I also don’t know what he meant by saying that.
"But we are different players," Holiday continued. "Brad is an elite scorer and he’s had somewhat of an off year. So I feel like just things are different. It’s tough to go from where he was, somewhere like in Washington, and then kind of experience the experience that he’s been going through. ... I just don’t know why people gotta bring me into it. Let me just do me, go out here and try to win as many rings as I can."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jrue Holiday Responds to Mike Budenholzer Reportedly Asking Bradley Beal to Play Like Him.
