Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott will be next coach of the Suns
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PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns hired Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott as their head coach, opting for a young, emerging leader to rebuild a franchise that has regressed over the last few seasons, a person familiar with the search told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
The person spoke to on condition of anonymity because the hire hasn’t officially been announced.
Ott will be the team’s fourth head coach in four seasons and replaces Mike Budenholzer, who was fired following a miserable 36-46 season that ended without a trip to the playoffs despite the high-priced trio of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.
The 40-year-old Ott has worked for the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and the Cavaliers. He also worked as a video coordinator under Tom Izzo at Michigan State, which is where Suns owner Mat Ishbia played as a walk-on from 1999 to 2003.
It remains to be seen if Durant or Beal will be on next season’s roster — both could be moved in trades. Booker seems like the only player on the roster who is truly untouchable after 10 seasons in the desert, including four All-Star appearances.
Ott and fellow Cavaliers assistant Johnnie Bryant were the two finalists for the job. Both worked under Kenny Atkinson, helping lead Cleveland to a 64-18 record this season, which was the best record in the Eastern Conference.
The New York Knicks fired coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday just days after their first trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years.
Ishbia and general manager Brian Gregory led a lengthy, deliberate search that lasted 1 1/2 months and included more than a dozen candidates. Gregory also has Michigan State ties as a former assistant coach.
Ott takes over a franchise that’s had a quick rise and fall over the last five years.
The Suns made the NBA Finals in 2021 with a core that included Booker, Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, Chris Paul, Cameron Johnson and coach Monty Williams, but lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games. Phoenix had the best record in the NBA the next season before losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the second round.
Ishbia blew up that nucleus shortly after purchasing the team in 2023, trading for superstar Kevin Durant, but the Suns lost again in the second round of the playoffs, this time to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets. Williams was fired following the season, which started the franchise’s sideline shuffle.
The Suns traded for three-time All-Star Bradley Beal and hired coach Frank Vogel during the ensuing offseason, but the group never seemed to gel. Phoenix was swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round of the playoffs in 2024, leading to Vogel’s firing.
Budenholzer replaced Vogel before last season, but the Suns didn’t even make it to the play-in tournament in 2025.
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