Latest news with #DevinBooker
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Report: Suns hiring Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott as coach
June 4 - The Phoenix Suns are hiring Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott as their next head coach, ESPN reported Wednesday. Ott will be hired for the position over his former Cavaliers colleague, associate head coach Johnnie Bryant. Ott and Bryant met with Suns owner Mat Ishbia, CEO Josh Bartelstein and new general manager Brian Gregory in Michigan on Tuesday. Per ESPN, Suns star Devin Booker was involved in the latter stages of the search process and tabbed Ott as his choice as head coach. Phoenix is looking for a replacement for Mike Budenholzer, who was fired April 14 after his first season and a 36-46 record. Ott will be the fourth coach in four seasons for the Suns. Ott began his career as a video coordinator at Michigan State in 2008 before filling that same role under Budenholzer with the Atlanta Hawks. He joined the Brooklyn Nets as an assistant coach in 2016 and moved on to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022 before Kenny Atkinson hired him in Cleveland. NBA Coach of the Year Atkinson and his staff led the Cavaliers to 64 wins and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, where they lost to the Indiana Pacers in the second round. --Field Level Media
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Phoenix Suns Make Right Call Hiring Jordan Ott As New Head Coach
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 18: Summer League head coach Jordan Ott of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on ... More against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half of a 2024 NBA Summer League game at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Lakers defeated the Cavaliers 93-89. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by) After a long and diligent search, the Phoenix Suns have chosen their successor to Mike Budenholzer. On Wednesday, it was announced that the team would be naming Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott as their new head coach. This decision is ironic for two reasons. First, both Ott and Mat Ishbia (the majority owner of the team, who has become known for questionable decision-making) are Michigan State Spartan Alum (as am I, for the record). And second, so long as he doesn't get traded this offseason, this will be Devin Booker's seventh non-interim head coach since being drafted by the Suns in 2015. That is tied for the most coaches in a tenure with one team in NBA history. Despite the comedic value sprinkled into this situation, the Suns did a good job with this hiring. No matter what anyone tells you, we never know how these things will play out with absolute certainty. So, all we can do is focus on having a good process for our decisions and hope that fate smiles in our direction. In this case, the Suns exercised some good process. As mentioned in the reporting around this signing, the Suns interviewed 15 different candidates for this job. Juxtapose this with the Sacramento Kings, who didn't interview a single other coach before removing Doug Christie's interim tag. Even if Christie ends up being the better hire than Ott, the Suns' strategy was far more commendable and will lead to better results over a larger sample. The Suns also made sure to avoid star-hunting this time around. With their last two coaches (Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer), it seemed like they were more amused with their championship pedigree than confident that they were the right guys to lead their specific roster. Ott is on the opposite end of this spectrum. He's a rising star whose best days are still in front of him. Ott was a part of the staff that took the mismatched Cavaliers roster and made them one of the best offenses in the history of the sport. Ott didn't do it all on his lonesome, but it seems like he did play an integral role in their success. Here is a quote from Shams Charania in his newsbreaking story: The key here is that Ott was able to take a team with an imbalanced roster and figure out how to best maximize their strengths while also minimizing their weaknesses. With most of their money tied up in three players who share more or less the same set of skills (albeit to varying degrees) and a bunch of flawed complimentary pieces, the Suns have arguably the least cohesive roster in the league. Ott is the perfect person to tackle this unique challenge. With this said, it does look very likely that Kevin Durant has played his last game with the Suns. So, he won't be dealing with exactly the same core that Vogel and Budenholzer worked with him before him. Still, given their limited draft resources and lack of young talent, this is still quite the mess for Ott to clean up. Regardless of whether or not Ott ends up being the savior this franchise desperately needs, the Suns did a good job with their hiring process this time around, and we need to remember this moment when we are reviewing this situation in the future.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Suns hire Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott as head coach, AP source says
PHOENIX (AP) — 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 past few seasons, a person familiar with the search told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke to the AP 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 Cavs assistant Johnnie Bryant were the two finalists for the job. Ishbia and general manager Brian Gregory led a lengthy, deliberate search that lasted 1 1/2 months and included more than a dozen candidates. ESPN first reported the hiring. ___ AP NBA:
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New Team Emerges as Betting Favorite to Land Suns' Kevin Durant in Offseason
New Team Emerges as Betting Favorite to Land Suns' Kevin Durant in Offseason originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The official start to the NBA offseason is right around the corner and one team that everyone has their eyes on is the Phoenix Suns. Advertisement Phoenix is expected to make some major changes to their roster this summer after another disappointing season that saw them finish 11th in the Western Conference with an abysmal 36-46 record which resulted in them missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign. Of course, it is expected that the Suns will break up their star trio this summer by moving on from both Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to rebuild their roster around Devin Booker. Phoenix Suns stars Devin Booker (1), Bradley Beal (3) and Kevin Durant (35)Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images With Durant likely on the move, trade rumors have continued to grow as many teams have been linked to the future Hall of Famer. Those teams include the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs along with others. Advertisement With the offseason right around the corner, the Suns will have a key decision to make regarding Durant as they try to receive the best package in return or him and a new betting favorite emerged on Tuesday. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Rockets have emerged as the favorite (+280) to land Durant this summer. They are followed by the Timberwolves (+300) while the Suns have the third-best odds (+350) of him staying on their roster for next season. Of course, the Rockets make the most sense for a Durant trade due to the fact that they own multiple of the Suns' picks, including the 10th overall selection in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft. Mar 30, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) and Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) fight for position in the first half at Footprint Center.© Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Because of this, the Suns would likely be intrigued by a package from Houston that included some of their picks, especially the 10th pick this year, as they try to kickstart their rebuild around Booker. Advertisement Despite this, many teams are expected to be in on the Durant sweepstakes this summer and it could turn into a bidding war for the superstar forward. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
NBA insider reveals five finalists for Phoenix Suns' head coaching job
The Phoenix Suns had built their very own version of a Big 3, with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. That trio only reached the first round of the NBA Playoffs last year, so they swapped out head coaches, going from Frank Vogel to Mike Budenholzer. Considering both coaches had led their previous teams to NBA championships, each seemed more than qualified to lead the Suns. Yet, Budenholzer couldn't even get the Suns back to the playoffs, which led to his dismissal after the season. Now, the Suns are embarking on a wide-ranging coaching search featuring a number of unique candidates, and there is already a group of five finalists. Advertisement According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Suns' final five head coaching finalists are Miami Heat assistant Chris Quinn, Oklahoma City assistant Dave Bliss, Cleveland assistant Johnnie Bryant, Cleveland assistant Jordan Ott, and Dallas assistant Sean Sweeney. Interestingly enough, none of the Suns' finalists have ever been a head coach before, yet Phoenix seems to be banking on uncovering a hidden gem. Considering they've already tried hiring two highly accomplished coaches, it makes sense to evaluate their other options. Of course, doing so comes with great risk. While the others were proven, there's no guarantee the next Suns coach can do any better. What if he does worse? Either way, it's a gamble the Suns are willing to take. Related: NBA insider reveals how Minnesota Timberwolves can trade for Kevin Durant
