Jordan Ott, New Phoenix Suns Coach, Looks Ahead: No Time for Regrets Over Recent Firings

Jordan Ott isn't concerned about what the Phoenix Suns have done with their recent head coaches.

He's focused on living out his dream.

"I think we're all aware of what we signed up being an NBA basketball coach," Ott said. "I'm not here to look back. on what has happened. I'm here right now and focused to move this thing forward."

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The new Suns head coach had his introductory news conference on June 10 at the team’s practice facility.

“That's my energy," Ott continued. "It's been a busy couple of days. A lot going on. That's exciting and I'm focused on moving this group forward from here on out."

Ott, 40, a former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant, agreed to a four-year deal to become Phoenix’s fourth head coach in four seasons. Monty Williams, Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer were fired after each of the last three seasons under team owner Mat Ishbia.

Ishbia bought the Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury from Robert Sarver for a record $4 billion during the 2022-23 season.

Phoenix finished 36-46 and failed even to reach the play-in tournament this past season under Budenholzer in suffering its first losing season since 2019-20, which was the last time the Suns missed the playoffs.

Now, Ott has been hired to help turn the Suns around as a first-year head coach with the full support of an owner and general manager who want him to succeed.

“As Jordan said, anybody in this profession, the coaching profession, they know the challenges that come with it," Suns general manager Brian Gregory said.

"During the process, we understood that we wanted to find the right coach that fit a lot of the stuff I talked about few weeks ago, that Mat talked about a couple of weeks previous in terms of building that identity. ... If we execute, then we're going to be in a great place and that's what we're excited about."

The Suns interviewed more than 15 candidates for the position during a search that stretched over a span of three months. They narrowed it down to two finalists in Ott and Cavs assistant Johnnie Bryant.

They met with Ishbia in Michigan this month, with Ott being the chosen one.

"Our fans deserve the very best and that's what sits in front of you today," Gregory said. "At the end of it, no question, clear choice, Jordan Ott stood out in every single stage of that process."

Gregory said the process included talking with players who had worked with Ott on previous teams when making the decision.

"His work ethic is beyond reproach," Gregory said. "His basketball knowledge, his forward thinking in terms of offensive schemes and systems, the blueprint for an aggressive defensive style of play fit in perfectly with everything that we've been talking about for the last five weeks.

"His leadership, his ability to develop players, his ability to develop deep relationships with players constantly stood out,'' he added. "In every phase of this, he was clearly the one standing out and making the most impact on myself, Mat and (Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein) on this process."

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Suns star guard Devin Booker provided his input during the search and favored hiring Ott, who recalled seeing the franchise's all-time leading scorer in a 2015 pre-draft workout.

“I can remember how he communicated and competed with himself in a 1-on-0 workout," said Ott, who was with the Atlanta Hawks at the time. "We left that workout knowing that he was different and then to see how early he's had success in his career of course from afar. ... He's in his prime, ready to rock and, again, we need to help him and that's my job as the head coach to help him in multiple areas, help him find solutions so he knows that he has us behind him."

Phoenix will likely move forward without Kevin Durant.

The Suns entertained offers for him right before the 2025 trade deadline and are expected to work with Durant and his agent, Rich Kleiman, to find a landing spot for Durant as early this month, around the June 25-26 NBA Draft.

“We look at all of our players," Gregory said. "Jordan and I have talked about it. Jordan has obviously thought the world of Kevin."

Ott was an assistant in Brooklyn during most of Durant's time with the Nets.

"(Ott) has a great relationship with Kevin, coached him the whole bit," Gregory continued. "... It's something that in terms of building our team and so forth, we're always talking about building our team."

Much has been made about Ott’s Michigan State ties to Gregory and Ishbia, who both were part of the 2000 men’s national championship team under Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo. Gregory served as an assistant and Ishbia was a walk-on player on that squad.

Years later, Ott was a graduate assistant under Izzo for two years as he earned his master’s degree at MSU in athletic administration.

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Ott was waiting on the question.

"So I'll say it like this," Ott said. "I've earned the right to be here. I've spent 20 years of working as hard as I possibly can to be here in this spot. I've been around great people, great coaches and great players that have allowed me to grow, put me in tough spots to see if I can get better. I know I've earned this opportunity. I'm going to work as hard as I can from here on out to prove that I'm here for the right reasons. I've earned this opportunity. That excites me. That excites me going forward."

Ott worked as a video coordinator for five more seasons until 2013, when he became a video coordinator for the Hawks under Budenholzer.

After three seasons in Atlanta, Ott served as an assistant for six seasons with the Nets (2016-22). He worked under Kenny Atkinson, Jacque Vaughn and Steve Nash during his time in Brooklyn.

Ott continued his NBA journey for two more seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers when Darvin Ham was the head coach.

Atkinson, Ham and Ott were on the same staff in Atlanta along with former Memphis Grizzlies assistant Taylor Jenkins and current Hawks coach Quin Snyder.

Ham is currently an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Ott reunited with Atkinson in Cleveland this past season. The Cavs posted the best record in the Eastern Conference at 64-18 as Atkinson was named 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year. Ott worked closely with Cavs big Evan Mobley, who won Defensive Player of the Year.

Mobley received All-NBA second team, All-Defensive first team and All-Star nods for the first time in his four NBA seasons.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin .

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New Phoenix Suns coach Jordan Ott looking forward, not focused on team's recent firings