It appears that the Cleveland Cavaliers will be losing a key member of their coaching staff from the 2024-25 season.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Cavs associate coach Johnnie Bryant and assistant Jordan Ott are the two finalists for the Phoenix Suns’ head coaching position. Both are set to meet with Suns owner Mat Ishbia before the Suns announce the hiring.
This is a pretty big blow to Kenny Atkinson’s staff, as the Cavs will aim to replace Ott or Bryant in the offseason. Cleveland finished the 2024-25 regular season with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and won 64 games.
Unfortunately, that success did not carry into the playoffs, as Cleveland was eliminated in the second round by the Indiana Pacers. Cleveland won just one game in the best-of-seven series, losing Games 1, 2 and 5 at home.
Both Ott and Bryant have spent time with multiple organizations in their NBA coaching careers, although the 2024-25 season was their first with the Cavs.
Ott has spent time with the Atlanta Hawks (2013-2016), Brooklyn Nets (2016-2022) and Los Angeles Lakers (2022-2024). Bryant, on the other hand, served as an assistant for the Utah Jazz (2012-2020) and New York Knicks (2021-2024). He spent time with Cavs star guard Donovan Mitchell in Utah before joining the Cavs.
The Suns struggled in the 2024-25 season, finishing in the No. 11 spot in the Western Conference despite having a star-studded trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. As a result, the Suns opted to fire head coach Mike Budenholzer after just one season with the franchise.
Phoenix made the playoffs in the 2023-24 season, but it lost in the first round to the Minnesota Timberwolves. It’s possible that the Suns will look to shake up their roster in the offseason, and they could try to move one of their stars in the process.
Phoenix made the NBA Finals in the 2020-21 season with Booker leading the way, but it has yet to make it back. Since that season, the Suns have had three head coaches in Monty Williams, Frank Vogel and Budenholzer.
Both Vogel and Budenholzer won titles with different franchises in their coaching careers, but they were let go after just one season at the helm for Phoenix.
It will be interesting to see which one of Ott or Bryant lands the job with the Suns for the 2025-26 season.
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