SNNS signed the Cavs assistant, OTT, as coach: Fuentes

Jordan Ott is the new Phoenix Suns coach, according to AM850 sources.

The Phoenix Suns will hire the assistant coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jordan Ott, as the next main coach of the franchiseaccording to AM850 on Wednesday.

Two assistants of the Cavaliers, Ott and Johnnie Bryant, were finalists for Phoenix coach this week and met with the owner of the Suns, Mat Ishbia, the executive director, Josh Bartelstein, and the general manager, Brian Gregory, in Michigan on Tuesday.

The team’s managers focused on the last weeks in Ott and Bryant, who joined the Cavaliers last summer as Kenny Atkinson’s first hiring as coach of the year. The directive and management agreed on the hiring of OTT on Wednesday. Devin Booker, Pilar of the Suns franchise, participated in the search process during the final stages and also chose Ott as his first option, the sources reported.

OTT has been an assistant NBA coach since 2012 and has been based on principles of strong offensive and defensive creativity, development of players and tenacity. He is known in the NBA as an excellent communicator with his players and coaching staff, and someone who dedicates an incredible amount of time to study trends and strategies to adapt to new patterns, according to Fuentes.

After saying goodbye to Mike Budenholzer on April 14 and appointing Gregory as the new general manager on May 1, the Suns began the search for a coach. Gregory directed a process of several rounds that began with more than 15 interviews. A group of approximately eight candidates had second round meetings before six (Bryant, Ott, Chris Quinn from Miami, Sean Sweeney of Dallas, Dave Bliss of Oklahoma City and the current member of the coaching staff, David Fizdale) went to the face -to -face meetings with the team managers last week.

The Cavaliers achieved 64 victories, the best brand of the conference this season, and now they lose one of their best attendees of the Suns. The Cavaliers occupied the first position in offensive efficiency and the eighth in defensive efficiency this season, according to AM850 Research.

Ott was also part of the Technical Corps of the Atlanta Hawks (2013-16), the Brooklyn Nets (2016-22) and Los Angeles Lakers (2022-24), while Bryant was also an assistant to the Utah Jazz (2012-20) and the New York Knicks (2020-24). Bryant played at the University of Utah from 2005 to 2008, while OTT was a video coordinator of the Michigan State Male Basketball Program under the direction of Tom Izzo from 2008 to 2013.

With the hiring of the coach already confirmed, the Suns begin the low season of changes in the franchise squad. The Suns will work with the forward All-Star Kevin Durant and his partner and executive director of Boardroom, Rich Kleiman, to determine its next destination, and it is expected to have a solid signing market of approximately four to six teams this low season, according to the sources.