Opinion: It's Too Early to Judge Suns' New Coaching Hire

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns' newest head coaching hire, former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott, was quickly met with scrutiny for one glaring reason - his Michigan State background.

Suns owner Mat Ishbia, a walk-on for the Michigan State basketball team from 1999-2002, has now hired his former Spartan assistant coach Brian Gregory as general manager and Ott, who has holds a master's degree from MSU and started his coaching journey as a video coordinator under Tom Izzo from 2008-13, this offseason.

Ishbia has already been criticized for the amount of connections that go back to his home state of Michigan on the staff and roster, as the people he has brought in with connections to him in the past have not translated to winning, only a steep regression since he took over in Feb. 2023 despite some major moves, such as trading for Kevin Durant only a few days after he took over, trading for Bradley Beal and trading away Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara that offseason.

We've been criticized by a few people who are tired of the Michigan jokes but folks, its not even joking. It's just reality.

Bartelstein - Michigan
Gregory - Michigan State
Ott - Michigan State
Paul Rivers - from Michigan
Taliaferro - worked for the Pistons
— Sam Cooper (@scooperhoops) June 4, 2025

Almost everyone now is skeptical how exactly the latest moves will change the tide of the Suns, and the optics certainly don't favor Ishbia and Phoenix.

It is also even easier to judge the hiring of Ott after Gregory's promotion to general manager after just one season of full-time experience. Gregory, a Division I men's basketball head coach for 19 seasons, has not hid from the fact that his relationship with Ishbia helped him get the GM job.

"I'm never going to shy away from the fact that one of the reasons I'm sitting up here is because of my relationship with Mat Ishbia," Gregory said at his introductory press conference on May 6.

Ott's Strong Assistant Coaching Resume

Contrary to Gregory, even with his MSU background, Ott has done enough in the NBA to prove himself worthy of being given a chance as a head coach, being an assistant on some pretty good teams with star players. He was a finalist for the Charlotte Hornets' job last summer before Charles Lee was named their head coach.

Ott started his NBA career as a video coordinator under former Suns coach Mike Budenholzer on the Atlanta Hawks from 2013-16, where Atlanta had the best record in the East in the 2014-15 season.

Ott then was on the staffs of three different coaches - Kenny Atkinson, Steve Nash and Jacque Vaughn - as an assistant with the Nets from 2016-22, coaching Suns superstar Kevin Durant alongside James Harden and Kyrie Irving in his time there.

The Lakers and Darvin Ham next hired Ott in 2022, where he spent two seasons with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and helped guide them to the 2023 Western Conference Finals.

Atkinson added Ott to his staff on the Cavs last offseason, and Cleveland surprisingly had the best record in the East this season in Atkinson's first year and three All-Stars in Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.

Ott was up against his fellow Cavs assistant Johnnie Bryant, who also has a great track record, as the final two candidates for the Suns opening.

According to PHNX's Gerald Bourguet, Ishbia sent an email to the basketball operations team Wednesday in which he "praised Gregory for his interview process, saying, 'His work on this coaching search was fantastic and gave us exactly what we need right now – a young, hungry, dynamic leader ready to be an NBA coach.'

"He went on to hail the hiring of Jordan Ott as 'an exciting milestone' and highlighted the new leadership and accountability that Gregory and Ott will bring to the table, as well as Ott’s ability to foster team chemistry, develop players and understand the game at the highest level."

Arizona Sports' John Gambadoro also added, "What they liked about Ott was work ethic/drive and a different level of sophistication with his offensive system than the other candidates. Got seal of approval from Devin Booker. And Steve Nash had very positive feedback as well."

The Verdict on Ott's Hiring

On the surface level, it's easy to judge the hirings of Gregory and Ott, but it is clear Ott is much more qualified and could bring exactly what the Suns need in a head coach after firing three coaches in three seasons.

Not a single coach has worked out under Ishbia so far, but Ott's background of not having any prior head coaching experience could help him in this way after three veterans before him.

He will also likely not be under the pressure of winning a championship next year with a Durant trade seemingly imminent, so Ott can implement the style he wants and work together with Ishbia to create a new identity that Ishbia has preached.

Phoenix can also try to tailor its roster to Ott's style this offseason with all of the projected moves it's going to make.

Ott has a very tough role to step into, and it's clear the Suns are not in a good position as a whole after spending so much to put together a team that has failed miserably.

With this said, it's too early to judge Ott as a coach until we see the product he and the Suns put on the court.

Even though there might not be pressure to win a championship this season, there will be a ton of pressure on Ott to prove he was indeed the right choice by Ishbia after the past hirings, and we will see if he is capable of just that.