PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Suns fired general manager Ryan McDonough on Monday, eight days before the season begins.James Jones and Trevor Bukstein will share the GM duties on an interim basis for the Suns. Jones is the team's vice president of basketball operations and Bukstein was assistant GM under McDonough, who had been in Phoenix since 2013 and was under contract through 2020.Suns owner Robert Sarver said in a statement announcing the firing that he made the decision "after much thought and a long evaluation of our basketball operations."The Suns took Deandre Ayton with the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft and gave Devin Booker a $158 million extension during the offseason. Phoenix has had four straight losing seasons and no playoff berth since 2010.Last year's 21-61 record was the worst in the NBA and second-worst in franchise history.But with the addition of Ayton and some other offseason moves, McDonough said at the team's media day that those days were over and the goal was to make the Suns "the most improved team" in the NBA. But the team has been unsuccessful in acquiring a proven point guard to supplement its otherwise improved lineup.McDonough and Sarver oversaw the hiring of Igor Kokoskov as head coach in the offseason.The Suns hired McDonough after three seasons as assistant general manager of the Boston Celtics. He is the son of the late Boston Globe columnist Will McDonough. His brother Sean is a sports broadcaster and brother Terry is vice president/player personnel of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals.The season begins a week from Tuesday. The Suns' first game is Oct. 17, when they host the Dallas Mavericks.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports