The Phoenix Suns might have made some massive roster moves this offseason, but far less has been made of the significant changes to their coaching staff. After two seasons of going after veterans in Mike Budenholzer and Frank Vogel to try and attain postseason success, the franchise is now leaning into a long-term approach in hiring first time head coach, Jordan Ott.
Ott arrives having been a highly thought of assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he has brought with him former player DeMarre Carroll for the ride. Another familiar face in Mike Muscala will also be on the bench, having only wrapped up his playing career at the end of 2024. It is clear then that this is a coaching staff that is a lot younger, and who are going to take time to implement their ideas.
Owner Mat Ishbia will still be ruthless despite lower expectations.
Yet for all of the good vibes around having a long-term coaching staff in place - like what Jamahl Mosley managed to achieve with the Orlando Magic in creating a defensive identity - Ott is on the clock right away. That's because for all of the talk about taking their time to get this right, Mat Ishbia is still the owner of this organization. Patience is a trait he does not appear to possess.
Right away the hope here is that the Suns can improve on conceding 117.7 points per game last season. Only three teams fared worse, and the roster now has Dillon Brooks and Khaman Maluach to help in that area, as well as the returning Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro and Collin Gillespie. But that doesn't guarantee success on that end of the court.
A potential "secret weapon" on Jordan Ott's staff may be Jesse Mermuys@StephenPG3 had some thoughts on today's pod about the ways he could potentially add value to the group pic.twitter.com/dGhSB1bDlj
— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) August 13, 2025
If the Suns fail to make a marked improvement, Ott will feel the heat. Not helping matters either is the fact that their two best offensive players - Devin Booker and Jalen Green - play the same position and have a lot of overlap in their skill set. Getting the two to co-exist will be hard - one is likely going to have to play the point guard position which is far from ideal - which will again ramp up the pressure.
In amongst all of this is Booker's feelings about entering another rebuild now that he is a 28-year-old in his prime superstar. It was easier to tell him to be patient when time was on his side and Chris Paul arrived to bolster the draft picks they had nailed. Looking around and seeing an 18-year-old in Maluach or a backup point guard such as Collin Gillespie is a harder sell.
Which makes the need to at least look like they are constantly improving even greater. Ott has taken on a massive task here, and it is one in which the fans are going to give him more time to get it right than the owner of the team. If the Suns are languishing down the bottom of the Western Conference after the trade deadline - as many expect them to be - Ott's seat will most certainly be hot.