Phoenix Suns announce four coaching changes for 2021-22 season
Aug 7, 2021, 1:54 PM
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JULY 20: Head coach Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns signals to his team during the first half in Game Six of the NBA Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum on July 20, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
(Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns announced in a press release the promotion of Kevin Young to associate head coach, as well as the additions of Bryan Gates, Jarrett Jack and Steve Scalzi as assistant coaches.
Young served as an assistant coach in his first season with the Suns in 2020-21 after four seasons as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers. He worked with Monty Williams during the 2018-19 campaign in Philadelphia.
Gates joins Williams’ staff after two seasons as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He has been a NBA assistant coach since 2009 and served on Williams’ staff for each of their five seasons together in New Orleans from 2010-2015.
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Jack will join the Suns after a 13-year NBA career as a player from 2005-2018. He averaged 10.8 points and 4.6 assists over 867 career regular season games with Portland, Indiana, Toronto, New Orleans, Golden State, Cleveland, Brooklyn and New York. Two of those seasons were played under Williams and Gates with Chris Paul in New Orleans.
He was also with Williams in Portland from 2005-2008.
Scalzi joins the Suns following seven seasons on the coaching staff of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He served as a player development coach and director of analysis and opposition scouting, including when Williams was the team’s associate head coach in 2015-16.
As the Suns look to “RUN IT BACK” and bring back much of the team that just went to the NBA Finals, familiarity seems to be a common theme as Williams surrounds himself with faces he has worked with before.
