The Cleveland Cavaliers saw one of their key assistant coaches from last season in Jordan Ott land a major promotion to become the Phoenix Suns’ new head coach on Wednesday, but not without the help from a certain NBA legend.
According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix, among the variety of reasons they favored Ott as their next head coach, Steve Nash also offered some notably positive feedback to the Suns surrounding the Cavaliers’ assistant.
“What they liked about Ott was work ethic/drive and a different level of sophistication with his offensive system than the other candidates,” said Gambadoro. “Got seal of approval from Devin Booker. And Steve Nash had very positive feedback as well.”
During Ott’s time as an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets, it was there where he got to find some chemistry with Nash, their then-head coach, and now, the Suns legend and former two-time MVP was there to offer some strong insight on Phoenix’s newest addition on the sidelines.
Ott was an assistant in Brooklyn from 2016 to 2022 after joining aboard from the Atlanta Hawks, to where he would then make a stop with the Los Angeles Lakers for three years before being hired to the Cavaliers staff, and being a part of their 60-win regular season campaign and top finish in the Eastern Confernece.
The Cavaliers had two of their assistants in Ott and Johnnie Bryant, receiving strong looks for the Suns’ job, with the final interviews coming down to both Cleveland coaches in an interview with their governor, Mat Ishbia, earlier this week before the decision was finalized for Ott to be the guy.
It could be a challenging mountain for Ott to climb in Phoenix. The Western Conference is seemingly getting tougher and tougher with each passing season, a talent like Kevin Durant is likely to be moved out of the building, and without much draft capital to the team’s name through the coming years and a shaky roster construction to work with, the former Cavaliers assistant will surely have his hands full.
However, he won’t be coming aboard without the full support of not only their franchise star in Devin Booker, but one of their franchise legends and an all-time NBA great in Nash as well.
MORE: Devin Booker Helped Bring Cleveland Cavaliers Coach to Suns
MORE: Cavaliers Linked to Western Conference Sharpshooter in NBA Free Agency
MORE: NBA Insider Casts Doubt On Potential Cavaliers-Magic Trade
MORE: Cleveland Cavaliers Showing Interest in Rising Big Man Prospect
MORE: Cleveland Cavaliers Land Strong Take Entering NBA Offseason
