The Cavs are losing a piece on their coaching staff.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Phoenix Suns are hiring Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott to be their next head coach.
Ott and fellow Cavs assistant Johnnie Bryant were reportedly finalists for the job.
Bryant and Ott were hired by the Cavs last summer. They held key roles during the 2024-25 season under first-year Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson.
The Cavs went 64-18 in the regular season, earning the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 playoff seed before falling 4-1 in the second round to the Indiana Pacers, who will meet the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals starting June 5. Atkinson became NBA Coach of the Year.
Ott is a longtime Atkinson lieutenant. During Atkinson’s previous NBA head coaching job with Brooklyn, Ott was a Nets assistant.
The Suns fired coach Mike Budenholzer in April after just one season.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Phoenix Suns hiring Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott, according to report
Reporting by Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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