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Danny Ainge had been joking the Celtics won’t suffer in the upcoming draft for the loss of Ryan McDonough to the Suns, because “I have Ryan’s brain waves.” The new Phoenix general manager laughed, but he went on to suggest there is truth within the humor. “That was, I think, one of the reasons Danny and I worked so well together,” said McDonough, who worked his way through the Celtics organization to become Ainge’s top lieutenant. “We did agree on a lot of players. It was kind of weird. “We didn’t agree just to agree. One of us would say, ‘You know who I really like?’ And almost without fail, the other guy would say a name, and the other would be like, ‘Geez, how did you know that?’ I learned a lot from him. I obviously only have a fraction of his experience and knowledge, but I think that’s why we worked so well together.” Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, Danny Ainge, Ryan McDonough 

Phoenix Suns general manager Ryan McDonough met with interim coach Lindsey Hunter to discuss the franchise's head-coaching job on Wednesday, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. McDonough and Hunter met in Chicago, where McDonough had arrived with the Suns' front-office staff for the NBA draft combine. Yahoo! Sports

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Lindsey Hunter, Ryan McDonough 

McDonough has yet to set up any formal meetings with candidates, but a league source told Yahoo! Sports that he's been calling for background on coaches including Utah Jazz assistant Jeff Hornacek, Moscow CSKA assistant Quin Snyder, Houston Rockets assistants J.B. Bickerstaff and Kelvin Sampson and Los Angeles Lakers assistant Steve Clifford, among others. Yahoo! Sports

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Kelvin Sampson, Jeff Hornacek, Quin Snyder, Steve Clifford, Ryan McDonough 

Bickerstaff, 34, is likely to be among the coaching considerations for new Phoenix Suns general manager Ryan McDonough, league sources said. Yahoo! Sports

Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Coaching, JB Bickerstaff, Ryan McDonough 

No decision has yet been made on Hunter’s status. But the way McDonough was speaking about the search planned to fill the head coaching chair for next season would lead you to believe that the team will look high and low elsewhere for a more solid long-term solution. “I’m going to spearhead that process, and the process has already begun,” McDonough said. “That was part of my interview with [team owner Robert Sarver and president of basketball operations Lon Babby]. We discussed potential coaching candidates, and who we thought would be good fits, and we were in alignment on a lot of the names — most of the names. “So we have an initial list to go off of. We’ve received a good amount of interest from people all over the basketball world who want to be the coach of this storied franchise, and they see a great opportunity here. That’s my first order of business as the general manager, to find the best guy for that job.” NBCSports.com

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Robert Sarver, Ryan McDonough 

But when asked if it was fair to say that Hunter’s name might be further down on his list, McDonough wasn’t ready to publicly declare Hunter as out of the running just yet. “No, I don’t think that’s fair to say,” McDonough said. “We will meet with Lindsey. I don’t know him that well personally, but I’ve heard good things about Lindsey’s character, and his toughness, and his work ethic. So Lindsey is a candidate. I know he’s interviewing for jobs elsewhere, but he’s a candidate for us as well, and we’re going to go into it with an open mind and consider all the top guys. And Lindsey is one of the top guys.” NBCSports.com

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Robert Sarver, Ryan McDonough 

McDonough said he expects his philosophy to be very similar to the one of Danny Ainge, who he learned the job from in Boston. “Danny Ainge is probably my professional mentor,” he said. “I think my philosophy will be the same. In Boston, one of the things Danny did so well, he was very aggressive in acquiring draft picks and trying to get the best players through whatever means necessary. One of the things that I learned from Danny Ainge is to be unafraid, and that not very move is going to be perfect. I’ll probably make some mistakes. But if you’re willing to work at it, and correct some of those mistakes — and again, if you’re unafraid — then that can lead to some great results.” NBCSports.com

Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, Danny Ainge, Coaching, Robert Sarver, Ryan McDonough 

Paul Coro: McDonough said he & Sarver had some of the same coaches in mind. Wants a leader who commands respect & teaches to maximize the #Suns talent. Twitter @paulcoro

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Robert Sarver, Ryan McDonough 

Paul Coro: McDonough got choked up talking about his brothers, Sean & Terry, attending the #Suns presser. Said it's OK cuz he saw George Karl do that. Twitter @paulcoro

Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, George Karl, Ryan McDonough 

And if new general manager Ryan McDonough lives up to rock-star billing in Phoenix, it could happen for the Suns' oft-criticized majority owner. "I'm definitely a better owner today than I was nine years ago, even two, three years ago," Sarver said. "I'm realistic enough and honest enough to accept the fact that I need to learn and evolve. "There are times in the past when we've used salary cap space wisely. But a lot of the times when we haven't used cap space wisely happened when I was involved in the process." USA Today Sports

Phoenix Suns, Ryan McDonough 

But he’s also a competitor. Cashing out before fixing the current mess would make his legacy a net loss, and that would be tough for him to swallow. “Absolutely not for sale at any price,” Sarver said of the Suns. “That’s the same position I’ve had for nine years.” Some say Sarver is extremely misunderstood, stuck inside a terrible caricature. He isn’t a bad guy or a bad owner. He just says awkward things. He makes some people uncomfortable. Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Robert Sarver, Ryan McDonough 

Adrian Wojnarowski: First job for McDonough in Phoenix will be to hire a coach: Expect him to find a bright, young assistant to grow with a full-blown rebuild. Twitter @WojYahooNBA

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Ryan McDonough 

Steve Bulpett: Ainge in on McD in today's Herald: "a guy I've heavily relied on over the last handful of years... excited for him to get an opportunity. Twitter @SteveBHoop

Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, Danny Ainge, Ryan McDonough 

The Phoenix Suns have named Ryan McDonough the team’s general manager, it was announced today. He will be introduced during a press conference on Thursday, May 9, at US Airways Center. NBA.com

Phoenix Suns, Ryan McDonough 

“Ryan distinguished himself among an impressive group of candidates for our GM position,” said Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby. “His natural leadership and communication skills will serve the Suns well. And, his prodigious work ethic and ability to identify talent will enable us to take full advantage of the 10 draft choices, including six in the first round, that we have over the next three years. We welcome his championship pedigree to our organization.” NBA.com

Phoenix Suns, Draft, Lon Babby, Ryan McDonough 

Marc Stein: If they can't persuade G-Hill to start exec career in desert, Suns expected to choose between Celts' Ryan McDonough & Bucks' Jeff Weltman Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Jeff Weltman, Grant Hill, Ryan McDonough 

The Suns’ decision for their next general manager could come down to two men – Jeff Weltman and Ryan McDonough. Weltman, Milwaukee‘s assistant general manager, has been seen as a favorite since the beginning of the process, particularly after coming close to getting the job in 2010 when Lance Blanks was picked. But Weltman has a strong challenger in McDonough, the Boston assistant general manager. Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Jeff Weltman, Ryan McDonough 

Three finalists have emerged for the Phoenix Suns' general manager's job, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. The Suns plan to have completed interviews with Boston assistant general manager Ryan McDonough, Milwaukee assistant GM Jeff Weltman and San Antonio Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden soon, sources said. Yahoo! Sports

Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, Jeff Weltman, Ryan McDonough, Scott Layden 

McDonough interviewed with Suns president Lon Babby and owner Robert Sarver on Tuesday, sources said. Weltman is expected to meet with them on Thursday, sources said. Yahoo! Sports

Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Jeff Weltman, Lon Babby, Robert Sarver, Owners, Ryan McDonough 

Babby would like for the Suns to tab a new GM before addressing the coaching situation, although he did call interim head coach Lindsey Hunter “a good strong candidate.” The GM search began this week with the Suns considering Milwaukee assistant GM Jeff Weltman (a finalist in 2010 when Blanks was hired), former Indiana Pacers GM and Arizona graduate David Morway and former Lakers assistant GM Ronnie Lester. Assistant GMs Ryan McDonough (Boston), Wes Wilcox (Atlanta) and Troy Weaver (Oklahoma City) are potential candidates too. Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Ronnie Lester, Jeff Weltman, Troy Weaver, Wes Wilcox, David Morway, Ryan McDonough