Suns coach Jordan Ott defends Michigan State ties: ‘I’ve earned the right to be here’
Jordan Ott said on Tuesday his body of work as a coach is why he belongs as the Suns' new head coach, and it's not just his Michigan State ties.
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Jordan Ott said on Tuesday his body of work as a coach is why he belongs as the Phoenix Suns’ new head coach, and it’s not just his Michigan State ties.
“I’ll say it like this: I’ve earned the right to be here,” Ott told media members at his introductory press conference Tuesday. “I’ve spent 20 years of working as hard as I possibly can to be here in this spot. I’ve been around great people, great coaches, great players that allowed me to grow, put me in tough spots to see if I can get better.
“So I know I’ve earned this opportunity. I’m gonna work as hard as I can from here on out to prove that I am here for the right reasons and I’ve earned this opportunity. That excites me going forward.”
With Ott joining owner Mat Ishbia and general manager Brian Gregory as Phoenix’s brain trust, much has been made about each of their ties to Michigan State.
There wasn’t direct overlap with all three, as Ott became the Spartans’ video coordinator (2008-12) after Ishbia and Gregory departed the program in 2002 and 2003, respectively. However, it’s easy to see how longtime MSU coach Tom Izzo influences all three.
“His ability to relate to players and spend time with players, build relationships, that is real,” Ott later said of Izzo. “I’m sure it’s real even today. The amount of time he spends with players, even in his stature and his success.”
Meanwhile, Gregory’s call for a scrappy, defensive-minded group at his introduction hit some of the same notes.
Ott was ready to point out the other coaching influences throughout his career, including his predecessor, Mike Budenholzer, who gave him his NBA start with the Atlanta Hawks in 2013. He remained a video coordinator there until 2016.
Suns legend Steve Nash, Kenny Atkinson and Jacques Vaughn were some of the other mentors he credited, as he moved to coaching on the floor for the next decade between the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Comments
7 Comments
Ott's MSU ties don't bother me as much as Gregory's. At least Ott has been on an NBA bench coaching for the last almost decade and probably on a head coach trajectory.
Gregory was a so/so college basketball coach, with almost no NBA experience and 0 GM experience. This was 100% a favortism hire that has a pretty good chance of being a disaster move.
Yup. The optics are terrible. Because you know if both Ott and Bryant were equally qualified, or even if Bryant was a bit more qualified, Ott was going to win because of MSU bias and alignment. And quite frankly, I don't like his indignant attitude, as if it isn't blatantly obvious why people are questioning the hire.
And there's something else that bugs me about this hire. Booker signed off on it. I don't like that. Not because I don't think Booker should have some say, I'm fine with that. Ott is an offensive coach that won't push Booker to play D as hard and I wouldn't be surprised if that went into the calculus of wanting Ott.
I see this as a cost saving measure. I'm incredibly unlikely to pay any streaming subs to watch commercials or watch this team. Suns ownership has killed any desire i have to watch the NBA. That and the NBA is a joke that only exists to make rich people more rich and enough of that.