Suns fire GM Ryan McDonough with season eight days away

 The Phoenix Suns relieved Ryan McDonough of his role as general manager on Monday, a little more than a week before the start of the NBA season.

The Suns have handed the task of running the franchise to vice president of basketball operations James Jones and assistant general manager Trevor Bukstein on an interim basis.

Jones will manage basketball operations including oversight of coaches, players and staff, while Bukstein will be the primary contact for player transactions.

"After much thought and a long evaluation of our basketball operations, I have decided to relieve Ryan McDonough of his duties as general manager of the Phoenix Suns," Suns managing partner Robert Sarver said in a statement. "Over the course of the season, we will explore both internal and external options as we look to restructure our basketball front office leadership. On behalf of the entire organization, I want to thank Ryan for his efforts and contributions during his five-plus years with the Suns."

McDonough was hired by the Suns on May 7, 2013, in hopes that he could rebuild the franchise after the departure of Hall of Famer Steve Nash.

He drafted the likes of Devin Booker, Josh Jackson, TJ Warren, Alex Len, Dragan Bender and Deandre Ayton. He had some early success, but the Suns are still in the same rebuilding mode that they were in when McDonough was hired. The team went 155-255 in his tenure.

The Suns also had five different coaches under McDonough. Last season, they fired coach Earl Watson three games into the season and named Jay Triano interim coach. In the off-season, they named Igor Kokoskov as head coach.

One general manager candidate to watch long term, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, is Kevin McHale. Jones could be another candidate, Wojnarowski reports.

The season tips off a week from Tuesday. The Suns' first game is Oct. 17, when they host the Dallas Mavericks.