The Cleveland Cavaliers knew that they would lose either Jordan Ott or Johnnie Bryant to the Suns, as the two were finalists for the team's head coach position. Phoenix decided to go with Ott, who is already impressing in his first head coaching opportunity.
On the "Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective" podcast, Windhorst said he thinks that the Cavaliers "are missing" Ott. He added, "That's not a shot at anybody."
Ott and the Suns are 8-6 to start the season, and as Windhorst pointed out, they haven't played a tough schedule, but their upcoming schedule is quite challenging. Phoenix would be lucky to be sitting at .500 once Christmas rolls around, but that speaks more to the tough competition in the West, and isn't a shot at Ott.
He walked in and took over a team that didn't give fans anything to be happy about the past couple of years, especially not last season. The Suns hit the reset button during the offseason after a 36-46 season, firing Mike Budenholzer, naming Brian Gregory as GM, hiring Ott, trading Kevin Durant, and using the waive-and-stretch provision on Bradley Beal.
Mat Ishbia wanted to change the culture, and so far, it looks like Ott was the right man for the job.
Jordan Ott is impressing in his first few weeks as the Suns' head coach
There is a price that you pay for good assistant coaches, and it's during the offseason when teams in need of a head coach come calling. Ott was only in Cleveland for one season on Kenny Atkinson's staff, but during that season, the Cavaliers had the best offense in the league.
The Suns also liked how Ott has helped develop players. In Cleveland, he helped Evan Mobley elevate his game to the next level during a season in which he took home the Defensive Player of the Year award. He's also worked with stars, ranging from his time in Los Angeles with LeBron James to coaching Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland.
As beneficial as it would be to still have Ott in Atkinson's ear during a pivotal year for the Cavaliers, it's nice to see him experience some early-season success in the desert. Ishbia promised fans over the summer that the Suns would play hard and compete. Guess what? They've done that.
It's still too early to say, but Ott could lead Phoenix to the play-in tournament after seeing what's happened with teams like the Mavericks, Grizzlies, and Clippers. That would be quite a feat in his first season at the helm, an outcome that didn't seem all that possible over the summer.