Phoenix Suns tell Roy Rogers to ride off into sunset

Really good assistants are hard to find, yet almost no one outside of NBA coaching and front office circles even knows who they are.

I had never heard of Roy Rogers before two weeks ago, even forgetting that he was a marginal NBA player at one point. Since retiring, Rogers has been an assistant for all of five seasons with three different teams.

He spent last year working with Andre Drummond in Detroit, and two years before that working with Brook Lopez in New Jersey. His total years on an NBA bench in an assistant role: five seasons.

Yet, he's been coveted by many teams this offseason while head coaches are installing new staffs all over the country.

First, he was destined for Sacramento. Was even hint-introduced by new coach Mike Malone after he assisted Malone in a pre-draft workout.

Then, he was off to Phoenix to work with Jeff Hornacek. Word leaked a week ago, though not confirmed by anyone in the Suns organization. Only that there were finalists and nothing would be announced until the ink was dry on contracts.

Then last night, word leaked that Rogers was waffling again. This time to possibly reunite with his old head coach, Lawrence Frank, back in New Jersey to work for Jason Kidd.

At that point, the Suns decided they had enough.

Per Lon Babby to Paul Coro of azcentral.com/sports:

"We couldn't finalize a deal with Roy Rogers," Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby said. "We have withdrawn our offer. As the contract process unfolded, we have decided that it's best for the Suns to look elsewhere. Financial considerations were not a factor."

The Suns will now need to hire two assistants to join Jerry Sichting and Jeff Hornacek on the Suns' sidelines.