PHOENIX SUNS

Bucks get permission to interview Suns’ Kevin Young, per report

May 15, 2023, 4:16 PM

Assistant coach Kevin Young of the Phoenix Suns talks with Chris Paul #3 during the first quarter o...

Assistant coach Kevin Young of the Phoenix Suns talks with Chris Paul #3 during the first quarter of the game against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on December 25, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/Getty Images)

(Photo by Justin Tafoya/Getty Images)

The Milwaukee Bucks have received permission to interview Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Young, 41, was Monty Williams’ lead assistant the last two seasons, joined the Suns the year prior and has been in the mix for a handful of recent openings. Wojnarowski has reported previously that Young is a candidate with the Toronto Raptors, as well as the Suns themselves, who fired Williams on Saturday.

The link for Young to Phoenix was originally through Williams and his time with the Philadelphia 76ers. Young was an assistant there from 2017-20 before Williams brought him in as an assistant. After Willie Green got hired by the New Orleans Pelicans as their new head coach, Williams needed a new top assistant, and it was Young.

Young has been coaching basketball since his early 20s. He led an Irish professional team for two years before getting in the mix at the collegiate level with Utah Valley State and Oxford College. His transition to the NBA came in 2009 as an assistant in the D-League. Young would coach at that level through 2017, serving as the head coach for Philly’s Delaware 87ers from 2014-17 until joining the 76ers’ staff.

The Bucks and Raptors let go of Mike Budenholzer and Nick Nurse, respectively, putting two head coaches on the market that recently won championships.

Williams is reportedly expected to be a target for the Bucks as well.

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