Suns make huge and correct call with who they didn't hire as next head coach

And then there were two. That's according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who reported Monday that the Phoenix Suns had narrowed their search for the next head coach of the franchise down to two individuals. Both of which are part of the Cleveland Cavaliers' coaching staff, in Johnnie Bryant and Jordan Ott.

On the surface it would appear that Ott has a distinct advantage, as he shares Michigan State as his alma mater with Suns' owner Mat Ishbia. If you think that's ridiculous, consider new General Manager of the Suns Brian Gregory was hired for the job when he didn't have a ton of experience, but what he did share was that time in Michigan State with Ishbia as well.

Suns did the right thing in not hiring David Fizdale for this role.

Regardless of who the Suns pick to be their next leading man - their fourth in the last four seasons - picking a first time head coach is the right move here. So too is including Devin Booker in the process - and if the rumors to this point are to be believed - Booker will have spoken to both candidates in person by the time a formal announcement is made.

Interestingly the decision not to pursue Miami Heat associate head coach Chris Quinn was also worth noting, given both how highly he is thought throughout the league combined with the apparent belief that he had put himself in position to be a finalist here. Given the problems the franchise have had in recent seasons, picking between these highly thought of assistants is an excellent problem to have.

The Suns also clearly made the right decision with their own assistant in David Fizdale. Somebody with plenty of experience running the show elsewhere in the league, although just how successful you feel he was in previous stops with the Memphis Grizzlies and New York Knicks is up to you. Fizdale has been a part of the last two coaching staffs, which was both a good and bad thing.

A positive in the sense he has seen firsthand the mistakes that have been made, but a negative because this team needs to move on entirely from the Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer eras. To the surprise of many, Fizdale's name kept appearing as the potential head coach of the organization as deep as the third round of interviews in The Valley.

Given they spoke with over 15 candidates before beginning to narrow their search down, that is not nothing. But sense has prevailed here - and while keeping Fizdale on the next coaching staff might ultimately happen - having him run the show would have been a massive mistake. There is nothing groundbreaking or massively different he can bring to the Suns right now.

Better to keep him on the bench, and turn to him if whoever takes over between Bryant and Ott ends up flaming out badly. This was a role that many felt could have been kept for Kevin Young while he was on Vogel's coaching staff, before he opted to head to BYU for the top job there instead. In keeping Fizdale away from the head coaching role with the Suns, the team have already made the right call.