The Phoenix Suns have whittled down their list of head coaching candidates to two finalists, according to sources that spoke to ESPN: Cleveland Cavaliers associate coach Johnnie Bryant and assistant Jordan Ott. The sources added that Ott and Bryant are scheduled to meet with Suns general manager Brian Gregory, owner Mat Ishbia, and CEO Josh Bartelstein in Michigan later this week.
After former head coach Mike Budenholzer was fired on April 14th, new general manager Brian Gregory began a comprehensive search for a new head coach that involved 15 preliminary interviews. From there, the Suns held second-round meetings with eight coaches before six – including Ott and Bryant – advanced to in-person interviews.
Devin Booker, the Suns’ all-time leader in points scored, has been involved in the head coaching search over the last seven to ten days, sources said.
This is the week. The Phoenix Suns will have a decision about their next head coach by the end of this week.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) June 2, 2025
Johnnie Bryant joined the Cavaliers this past offseason after serving as an assistant head coach for the New York Knicks from 2020 to 2024. Meanwhile, Ott also joined the Cavs this off-season after being an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers from 2022 to 2024 and the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2022.
Together, Ott and Bryant, alongside NBA Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson, led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the second-best regular-season record in franchise history (64-18) as well as the number-one seed in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, the Cavs were bounced out of the playoffs by the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The Suns are being smart
I really like what Phoenix is doing and how they are approaching this head coaching search. Too often, we see the same boring old coaches hired again and again to try and turn a franchise around, only for it to fail miserably (just look at Doc Rivers). Instead of settling for another fired head coach like most teams do, the Suns are trying to create a completely new and unique culture by hiring an unproven entity.
Some people may consider this type of decision to be silly because the Suns are a franchise that needs to win right now, but I couldn’t disagree more. I believe the Suns are trying to deviate from what they’ve always done by going after guys like Ott and Bryant. The last three head coaches that the Suns have hired have all been guys who came into Phoenix with a lot of coaching experience. But, the Suns only have one playoff series win to show for those hires.
Rather than just going after another head coach who has experience but was likely fired from his previous post, the Suns are trying to find the next great head coach by picking an assistant from a winning team to be the franchise’s next leader.
The Phoenix Suns have narrowed their head coaching search to two finalists from the Cleveland Cavaliers, associate coach Johnnie Bryant and assistant Jordan Ott, sources tell ESPN. Both will meet with Suns owner Mat Ishbia in Michigan ahead of a hiring as soon as later this week. pic.twitter.com/6JSG8EiuaU
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 2, 2025
Let’s just look at two of the most successful NBA coaches in recent memory: Steve Kerr and Erik Spoelstra. Before both men were hired to be coaches, neither had any previous head coaching experience. Despite neither man having previous head coaching experience, they both have emerged as two of the best leaders in the modern NBA, with six championships combined between them. The Suns are hoping to have the same success with either Ott or Bryant.
Michael Malone, Mike Brown, and Taylor Jenkins are all available for hire at the moment, but each one of those guys was fired from their last job. Instead of settling for the Grizzlies’, Kings’, or Nuggets’ sloppy seconds, the Suns are going out of their way to give a young, up-and-coming coach a chance to prove themselves. After the recent coaching failures the Suns have had, this is the best path forward.
