The Phoenix Suns hired Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott as its next coach, the team announced Friday. Ott joined Cleveland’s staff last summer and was integral to the Cavs finishing with 64 wins during the regular season. Prior to joining Kenny Atkinson’s bench, he was an assistant with the Lakers and Nets and previously served as a video coordinator with the Atlanta Hawks.
Ott now takes over a team that has had three different coaches in as many years and will face many roster construction questions next season. With Kevin Durant’s name frequently mentioned in trade rumors, there’s a good chance Ott could be taking over a team that looks significantly different than it did at the end of this past season, which could shift expectations from the front office.
Fellow Cavaliers assistant coach Johnnie Bryant was also a finalist for the position, but Ott eventually got the “stamp of approval” from franchise centerpiece Devin Booker, according to an ESPN report. Booker was involved throughout the process, suggesting that the Suns are still focused on building around the All-Star guard going forward. But what that roster will look like around him remains the central focus of Phoenix’s offseason.
The Kevin Durant problem
Durant was almost traded in February at the deadline to the Warriors, but he nixed that idea after telling Stephen Curry he had no interest in going back to Golden State. Recent reports have suggested that Durant and the Spurs had mutual interest at the trade deadline, and the Timberwolves were also interested in landing the veteran forward, but it remains to be seen if those teams will still entertain the idea of acquiring him this summer.
The Suns previously maintained a high asking price for Durant, which considering what they gave up for him (four unprotected fist-round picks, one unprotected pick swap, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder) is understandable. But trying to recoup those assets is virtually impossible with Durant now 37 years old and on an expiring contract that owes him $54.7 million next season before he becomes a free agent in the summer of 2026. Now, though, the Suns have lowered their asking price for him, which will certainly make it easier to move him this summer.
NBA trade rumors: Suns are gradually lowering their Kevin Durant asking price
Sam Quinn
It’s unclear what the Suns want in return for Durant, but given Booker’s involvement in the coaching search, surely Phoenix wants to retool, not rebuild. That means there will be some level of expectation for Ott to lead a competitive team worthy of making the playoffs, but we’ve seen how even that hasn’t been enough to keep a job in Phoenix.
Mike Budenholzer was let go at the end of this season after the team missed the playoffs; he was in Year 1 of his deal. The summer prior to that, the Suns fired Frank Vogel in his first year after getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs. Monty Williams was relieved of his duties the year before that after leading the team to the NBA Finals and making the postseason in three of his four years with the team.
We’ll see if that’s the same for Ott, who earned a master’s degree from Michigan State and worked as a video coordinator under Tom Izzo from 2008 to 2013. That’s notable only because Suns team owner Mat Ishbia is a Michigan State alumnus, so perhaps the Michigan State connection will ensure Ott lasts at least two years.
