Phoenix Hires Cavs Assistant Jordan Ott as New Head Coach

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Phoenix Suns franchise already began its off-season NBA moves after tapping the services of Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott as their new chief tactician confirmed on June 5, 2025.

Ott will be replacing Mike Budenholzer, who was fired a day after Phoenix officially missed a spot in the NBA Playoffs with a disappointing 36-46 win-loss record.

According to ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania, Ott was chosen over fellow Cavaliers assistant Johnnie Bryant, who was also a finalist for the Suns’ open head coaching post.

Ott was instrumental in helping Cleveland finish with the best record in the Eastern Conference, 64-18, but only reached the NBA Playoffs semifinals after losing at the hands of the finals-bound Indiana Pacers squad.

Before taking his coaching genius to Phoenix, Ott started his NBA career as a video coordinator for the Atlanta Hawks from 2013-2016, before receiving his big break as an assistant for the Brooklyn Nets from 2016-2022.

Ott carried a reliable repertoire in the field of individual player development, a reason why he was tapped by the Los Angeles Lakers for three years. His last coaching stop before heading to Phoenix was under Cleveland, where he would work hand-in-hand with Kenny Atkinson in turning the Cavaliers into a well-oiled machine.

His role in the upcoming NBA season for the Suns will be crucial after the team failed to make the playoffs despite having a star-studded trio of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal.

The organization initially went shaky after Durant was involved in several trade talks during the last NBA trade deadline. He went vocal about it, saying that the front office should only focus on helping the team get out of the hump.

The plot then just thickened after Charania revealed that the Suns are planning to ship Durant in the off-season but are having trouble finding a valuable exchange in the package.

The addition of Ott might cause the ceasefire, as the newly-hired Phoenix coach mentored Durant when he played for the Brooklyn Nets from 2019-2022.