Suns coaching vacancy down to four candidates

PHOENIX -- The search for a replacement for Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni apparently is down to four candidates.

While Suns general manager Steve Kerr didn't call them finalists, he praised the four individually and said all remained under consideration.

The last of the group, San Antonio Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer, was interviewed Tuesday, one day after Detroit Pistons assistant Terry Porter had his second interview for the job. Two other assistant coaches, Elston Turner of Houston and Tyrone Corbin of Utah, also have had second interviews.

"We're getting a lot closer," Kerr told reporters Wednesday. "Our interview process is probably completed. There may be a few more phone conversations. But we're really pleased with the candidates that we've put together."

Kerr indicated that Flip Saunders, fired as Pistons' head coach Tuesday, will not be added to the mix.

"We're pretty far in our process," Kerr said. "I have a lot of respect for him, but I also think the process we've undertaken is a good one. We feel really good about it. I don't feel like changing course altogether and doing something that's just totally out of the blue."

The methodical search for D'Antoni's replacement might come to an end next week.

Porter said he had not heard from the Suns since a lengthy second interview on Monday.

"I think I'm still in the mix. They haven't told me I wasn't," Porter told the Associated Press in a brief telephone conversation. "I'm still working for the Pistons, so I'm just letting the process work itself out."

Another Pistons assistant, Michael Curry, is considered the leading candidate to replace Saunders in Detroit, with Porter a potential alternative.

Porter, who played in the NBA for 17 seasons, is the only one of the four known remaining candidates with head coaching experience, with two seasons at the helm of the Milwaukee Bucks.

"Terry was great. We brought him in a second time for a reason," Kerr said. "I think very highly of Terry going back to when we were teammates together in San Antonio. He got a chance to come in and kind of share some more thoughts and views of our team and a vision for our future, so it was a good meeting."

Budenholzer wasn't available to be interviewed until the Spurs were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.