Phoenix Suns hire Jordan Ott to be next head coach

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX – ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Wednesday that the Phoenix Suns will be hiring Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott to be the franchise’s next head coach. The month-long coaching search with dozens of candidates came down to two Cavaliers assistants in Ott and Johnnie Bryant. The final two had a conversation with Suns owner Mat Ishbia in Michigan on Tuesday that helped with the final group decision within the organization.

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Ott is a seven-year assistant in the NBA and was a Darkhorse to win the head coach position when the search first began, but has impressed general manager Brian Gregory throughout the entire process.

Shams on Suns coaching hire:

Phoenix reportedly wanted a first-time head coach to take the mantle, after hiring back-to-back veteran head coaches with no success. Ishbia wanted the next head coach to represent the Valley and establish a culture that fans could be proud of for year’s to come. However, Ott’s hiring will likely have fans rolling their eyes.

While Ott is a stellar offensive-minded coach and has all the qualifications to be future head coach in the league, his ties with Ishbia’s Alma Mater made it seem like a foregone conclusion he would get the job. Ott was a video Coordinator for Michigan State and graduated with his Master’s at the university as well.

Ishbia has already promoted a former Spartan in Brian Gregory to become the team’s next general manager, and helped with the final decision to select Ott to be the next coach for the team. Reports indicated that Gregory led the coaching search, and Ishbia only talked with the final two candidates before giving his opinion to the Suns GM.

Regardless, Suns fans will be hesitant to accept their new head coach because of his ties with Michigan State. Ishbia hired a general manager, who’s never held a front office position before, and now has helped with the selection of a first-time head coach that had the least experience with the candidates available.

Ott’s hiring will face a lot of scrutiny, but his offensive creativity could prove his doubters wrong. The NBA is shifting to younger coaches and minds to help stay with the times of the fast evolving game. The future of Phoenix’s stars Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal might be unknown, but Ott could unleash Devin Booker’s offensive peak next season.

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Reporter Tanner Tortorella covers general assignment for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @TannerTSports