Head Coach Jordan Ott Introduction Press Conference | Phoenix Suns 6-10-25

Head Coach Jordan Ott Introduction Press Conference | Phoenix Suns 6-10-25

welcome everyone thanks for coming in today um I’m excited about this day and about introducing Jordan as our new head basketball coach i’m going to start off with a a little bit of how we got here and why we got here um we completed an extensive head coaching search with a diverse highly talented group of candidates um we met at different stages uh in different ways but we were able to dig down on those candidates in terms of who they were as people who they were as coaches who they were as leaders we’re able to talk about and discuss and watch film and go over basketball stuff in terms of system style of play uh their vision for our organization their vision for our team um we were able to cover a lot of different a lot of different things during that during that time um their philosophies um and where they saw us moving on to so it was a it was a great process we also looked deeply into how each candidate fit into our community uh we got a passionate fan base and them fitting in with the Phoenix community was was very very important our fans deserve the very best and that’s what’s sitting in front of you today at the end of it no question clear choice jordan not stood out in every single stage of that process what we’re bringing in today is a hungry assistant coach that is now the head coach that has spent 12 years in the NBA prepping for this day his work ethic is beyond reproach his basketball knowledge his forward thinking in terms of offensive schemes and systems the blueprint for an aggressive defensive uh style of play fit in perfectly with everything that we’ve been talking about for the last five weeks his leadership his ability to develop players his ability to develop deep relationships with players constantly stood out in every phase of this he was clearly the one standing out and making the most impact on myself on Matt and on Josh during this process all these things were only confirmed by the players that he coached during these 12 years as we called various players around the NBA and the coaches that he worked with and worked for so at this time I’d like to have everybody give a warm welcome to the new head coach of the Phoenix Suns Jordan Kn [Applause] yeah whoa what a day you know it’s been really what a week uh if I’m honest like just what a whirlwind just and how truly special this is for me and my family you know I’m honored to be the next head coach of the Phoenix Suns but when you get the call and you go through your emotions you’re like man you’ve you’ve been around and been lucky to be around a lot of good people and um you know it starts with the different places I’ve been to and then the all the different coaches and the support staff that I’ve been around and I know a lot of you have reached out and I’m truly thankful for helping me along this journey and you know part of that is the highs and part of that’s the lows and when you sit back and you realize man you know it’s a pretty cool thing to be involved in basketball and the most important piece you know over now it’s 19 going on 20 years my seven years in college and 12 in the NBA is the players you know it’s incredibly tough what you guys do and um to be an NBA player to maintain yourself in the league to grow um to be resilient you’re in the toughest environment in the world in the sport that you play and for those guys that have allowed me to coach them um you’ve definitely helped coach me and get me better i can still hear Pat Bev barking in my ear um I hope I’ve made you better because I know that you’ve made me better and without you guys everyone that I’ve been around all the players um without that I wouldn’t be sitting here then a special thanks to Matt Ishbia Brian Gregory and Josh Bartlestein for giving me this opportunity um this opportunity to be the head coach of this great organization in this community um the tradition of winning you know the sun’s basically changed the way the game has been played and we’re so excited to be here in this community um and then quickly my mind goes from that to what’s next and that’s how my mind has been um all weekend into this week since we’ve got here what’s next and the next challenge the next hurdle and that’s an important piece to all this how excited I am to be going forward with you all thank you we’ll open up for some questions now uh Gerald Borgay PHX Sports jordan congratulations brian good to see you as well great seeing you uh Jordan for you you mentioned the various stops that you’ve been through out your career obviously you’ve carved out an identity as an assistant coach now taking that next step as a head coach what kind of head coach do you want to be and how do you want your players to see you as a coach thanks Gerald i think um you know moving that 12 inches over is different but I’m always going to bank on who I am as a person that hasn’t changed um I think if you ask around the people I’ve been around um we’re going to demand that you work um that’s where it’s going to start i want them to know and believe that I’m going to help them we we this place we’re going to help them we’re going to help them at every phase of their game we’re going to help develop them get to a new level that they didn’t think they could get to and it’s going to take all of us and then it’s tough it’s again it’s tough to play in the NBA and I want them to know when they’re out there playing that we’re together not only your teammates but us as coaches all the support staff we’re all here to find solutions and then after the game we’ll talk about it evaluate it get to the next congratulations Amanda Flugrad with the Phoenix Suns just looking at your journey as a whole you started off as a video coordinator how do you think just the years that you’ve spent in the league leading up to this point will better serve you even with the players and just building those relationships yeah again I think I’ve thought about that over time and then the last week it really it really hits you but you know it’s just so many different situations that you’re put into when you’re in sports in a competitive environment you know I’ve been on teams that you know when we first got to Brooklyn it was 20 wins we 20 28 to then try to make the playoffs and then you know the last five years has been interesting you know we we had a great team with multiple superstars in Brooklyn and those arenas and those environments change change you change the players that’s the highest level of pressure and how you maintain yourself grow and move it forward those two years in Brooklyn my two years in LA and then of course this last season in Cleveland have have definitely put me in the fire and I’m excited to now go forward and show all that I’ve learned hi Jordan Doug Hower with The Athletic welcome to the Valley thanks Doug just throughout your your experience when when did you first start seeing that this might be possible in your career that one day and instead of you know being assistant or whatever that you might be sitting in the lead chair for an NBA franchise yeah Doug I I think I have too much appreciation for the profession to to believe that you know guaranteed it’s going to happen you know you hope to put yourself around enough great coaches great organizations and then the players that really force you to think think outside the box be creative i think those last five years and especially you know in the last 12 months um really then taking action on what I’ve learned um specifically over those you know the two in LA two in Brooklyn to then put it to action and then the way we played the way the Cleveland Cavaliers played last year um that’s how everyone wants to play and that’s the exciting piece being there at the ground level to build that and then take that to a new place where we can build it Jordan back here in the back right kell Olsson Arizona Sports nice to meet you welcome to the Valley with what Brian was mentioning about offensive and defensive philosophies I’m sure you’re chomping at the bit to craft your own style of play what comes to mind for you when Brian mentions those philosophies and sort of the key bullet points for you with the forward thinking that he was mentioning yeah everyone’s going to say pace right so offensively playing faster i think a way to look at it is playing earlier in the clock we know the efficiency of offensive possessions you know start high and they drop so how often can we get a good look early in the possession so we’re going to play fast we’re going to move and you know the cutting piece is important and we saw that this past season teams started to pick up on it but we’re going to cut we’re going to move bodies and then we’re going to find ways to get extra possessions so we’re going to crash find ways to get extra possessions because we again we know how important it is to win the possession game not only do you got to get high quality shots you got to be there in the possession game then defensively like like BG mentioned I want to play aggressive you know we see it in the playoffs we see exactly two teams that are at the end of the day in the finals um what aggressive defensive mentality does to the offense and how it impacts the offense and then we’re going to communicate defensively there’s a it’s so random you know offenses are becoming more conceptual how we communicate and then at the end of the day defense needs effort all out effort all the time and then we’re going to have to be connected you know through the 48 minutes there’s going to be some type of adversity can we stay connected to move past that and be more connected for a longer period of time than the other team and the last piece and I’ve already hit on a little bit is we’re going to do it collaboratively and again I think I’ve seen the change in the last handful of years in the NBA is we need everyone to help and find solutions um that’s all departments all of us to help these guys not only get better but then find solutions before the game ame and then postgame so that’s going to be our playing style again I am chomping at the bit to try to get this thing get on the court but to to the guys credit they’ve been in here working so that it’s definitely exciting part hey Jordan Shane Young with Forbes welcome to Phoenix thanks Shane um just curious you know what what does it mean for you to have Devin support throughout this whole process and what has stuck out to you about him throughout his career so yeah I’ll tell you a little story about Devin one-on-one workout in a draft workout um again it was just coach player rebounder and I can remember how he communicated and competed with himself in a one-on-one workout and we left that workout knowing that he was different and then to see how early he had success in his career um of course from afar but bubble to 2021 season to take this team to the finals and all the great things that he’s accomplished so early in his career being a leading all-time leading scorer and he’s in his prime ready to rock and um again we need to help him and that’s my job as the coach to help him in multiple areas help him find solutions um so he knows that he has us behind him make or miss end the game game on the line make or Miss were buying them hey coach Dwayne Rank and Arizona Republic congratulations welcome to Phoenix i got actually a question for you and question for Brian first with you when I look at just following up what has happened here as far as guys getting one year u with Frank and and then you have Bho was there any trepidation at all with you i understand it’s the first opportunity that you could have to be a head coach but did you have any thought of h I’m getting ready to fall into something with the last couple of coaches I had got but just one year no I mean I think we’re all aware what we signed up for when we’re an NBA basketball coach and again I’m not here to look back what has happened i’m here right now and focused to move this thing forward that’s my sole energy you know it it’s been a busy couple days uh lot going on but that’s exciting and I’m focused on moving this group forward from here on out okay and then Brian the same just tips around along the same lines but for you as far as the process and and talking with the coaches how much how important is it to to say okay look this is a process and it’s not going to be a one-year deal and or is it hey look we’re trying to get it done in one year and if and if it not we we might look to move forward no I I I think as Jordan said anybody in this profession uh the coaching profession as Jordan said knows that the challenges that come with it but during the process um we understood that we wanted to find the right coach that fit a lot of the stuff that I talked about a few weeks ago that Matt talked about a couple weeks previous in terms of building that identity um building a team that this great community can be proud of he described how we’re going to play um that was the buzz word the alignment was there in terms of that you know um and now as I said a few weeks ago now we got to go execute and if we execute then we’re going to be in a great place and that’s what we’re excited about coach Richard signs Fox 10 congratulations welcome to the valley um it was mentioned you know you got the support of Devin Booker other people have also come out and kind of backed you Draymond Green for one a guy that seems not easy to impress uh you know Darin Ham you know one one of your you know colleagues you know you you got players here supporting you how exciting would it be for you to prove these people including Mr gregory right with this decision yeah I’m not into proving people right you know changing the doubters’s mind i I just don’t think like that to be honest with you it’s just what I do um on a day-to-day basis who I want to help that’s important to me and you do have to be processoriented in this business you have to be processoriented there’s so many highs and lows to it um are we getting better that’s what I’m concerned about elliot Pikoff Arizona’s family 3TV CBS 5 congratulations welcome to the Valley thanks you’ve obviously been hoping to make this next step in your career and become a head coach probably for I mean a while and I mean what what excited you specifically about this Sun’s opportunity and the chance to be a part of this organization again I think you know a lot of things that BG has already stated and this is an exciting opportunity because first off the players you know it’s always the players and it’s the actual organization and I know um that I have the support from above me that we can do this step by step to do it the right way to build this thing out um I think as you look across the NBA there’s so much parody around the league and even where Indiana was a couple years ago to where they are now you know the team in Cleveland 16 win jump we can make that jump but we’re going to do it in a systematic way and I know BG Matt Josh we all share the same thinking that we can do this in a systematic way step by step to build this thing out right hey Jordan Brendan Clean locked on Suns podcast uh we’ve seen a lot of firsttime head coaches recently talk about the value of experienced assistants uh JJ in LA or Joe Missoula people like that how are you thinking about building out a staff surrounding yourself with people you could trust and maybe who have that experience yeah I think even in the process you know this comes up and you know you want your staff um to be high character and high care so who they are as people um loyal trustworthy um and then do they do the work and if we can consistently find that in our staff we’re in good shape and I’ll also say I have so much respect for the coaching profession that we know how hard it is to rise in this profession and how hard it is when some type of change like this occurs so we’re going to take our time we’re going to fill this thing out right again to help our group help our players make sure we’re all on the same page um but yes we will be building our staff out throughout the month hey Jordan over here uh David Brown with the Associated Press congratulations on the job um excuse me there’s been some jokes that they might rename the franchise the Phoenix Spartans with all the Michigan State ties i was just wondering from your perspective how much that connection meant with Brian with with Matt and what you think that that brings to the table so I’ll say it like this like I’ve earned the right to be here i’ve spent 20 years of working as hard as I possibly can to be here in this spot um I’ve been around great people great coaches great players to allow me to grow put me in tough spots to see if I can get better so I know I’ve earned this opportunity um I’m going to 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 so that excites me that excites me going forward jordan Craig Fuy ABC15 sports right here how excited are you just to step into that head coaching role for the first time and and you’ve been down the road as an assistant and you’ve I know you’ve coached summer league but what is this like for you for your family just to be the head coach of the Phoenix Suns yeah I mean incredible it’s like I said earlier it’s just the whole week in general you’re just incredibly thankful for for the journey and the people that you’ve been with um and then it quick quickly shifts to what’s next and how can I help you know we have the draft coming we have Summer League coming so that’s where my mind is i’ll enjoy the evening with my my family um they they leave tomorrow and we’ll we’ll get back to work uh Gerald Borgay PHNX Sports again this is a question for the both of you in in the past we’ve seen and heard that the head coaches are involved with the front office in terms of personnel decisions and talking that through jordan you went through a list of philosophies that you want the Suns to play with um how does that conversation look in terms of moving forward and what the roster might look like roster moves that sort of thing want me to go uh you know a lot of that goes back to the piece of us working together on a daily basis um the communication piece of where the roster is what it looks like this is our style of play is there someone out there that fits great for our style of play that’s available uh as Jordan mentioned a draft coming up uh we’ve had a couple draft workouts this week that Jordan’s been able to be at he sits in on the debrief meeting afterwards um so again that one of the best parts of this is is the relationship and partnership that we’re going to have on a daily basis um and with that comes personnel questions and team makeup and different things like that um and when you have uh a common goal and and a shared vision that makes it it makes it a lot easier coach I’m sorry Brian over here uh just to piggyback off what Gerald said obviously Jordan you have a relationship with Kevin Durant but then obviously trying to move forward what’s the process in terms of tying the two that you may move forward without Kevin and yet he’s trying to build a team well again we we look at all our players and uh Jordan and I have talked and as you mentioned Jordan has obviously taught the world to Kevin has a great relationship coached them the whole bit um but as you know um I appreciate you asking the question i know you have to ask it uh but as you know when it comes to contract negotiations uh player contracts and so forth we don’t discuss those um but it’s something that in terms of our team and so forth we’re always talking about building our team hey Jordan um just from your time around the league what are the most important steps to building trust and the relationships with your players yeah great question i think that is uh the most important piece to coaching and to be in the NBA you obviously have to be talented i think right now in the NBA you not only have to be talented but you have to have high character so initially everyone you know will be respectful of the position but it quickly turns to can I help them and once they know you can help them that helps the relationship that helps you coach them once that relationship is formed so when I prove and when our staff proves that we can help them that’s when you got a good thing going and that’s where we’re going to be building to jordan Haynes with Clutch Points first off nice to meet you congrats on the job brian nice to see you again good um kind of piggybacking off of Shane’s point about relatability um I’m just curious from your perspective when it comes to relating to players when you are able to relate to them on a personal level how does that impact or sort of elevate their game on the basketball court i think like any good team you know and you’re trying to find a way to connect the best and or you know most common now that I’d use is is children you know it’s an easy way to connect with players um and then the young players you know it’s it’s your experiences you know but it all comes back to time spending time with these guys developing that relationship so then when something goes a little off you know and then we can quickly get everyone back on the same page moving in the right direction but relationships are are built through trust with time and that’s what we’ll be looking to build one one thing real quick along those same lines was you know during this process even kind of before it started um met with a lot of our players talked to some other players on other teams throughout the league in terms of just a profile for what the a successful head coach would look like in the NBA right now and it was amazing how um connected those answers were within I I met with our young guys to our older guys um you know players today want quality they want to know that their head coach is a is a good guy you know that there’s values and that they’re they’re going to be treated in a valuable way not just them as players but them as people uh and the other people around the organization are treated that way by the head coach they want substance uh they want to know as as Jordan just said that that this guy knows what he’s talking about and can help them grow as a player while also incorporating that growth into the success of of a team we have a Hall of Famer from the Suns organization that had a great line he told me “Substance commands the room now.” And I took that to heart as as going through this process they want a coach who’s honest players may not always like to hear what’s being told but they want an honest evaluation um and last uh but not least they want standards guys want to know what what’s going to be expected of them and they want to be held accountable and they want everybody held accountable so as we went through it every time I went through this that’s Jordan not that’s the guy sitting right here that’s the guy that when I went through the characteristics with our current players and as I said players around the league because I wanted a different perspective that’s exactly what we got we’ll take two more questions and then do a photo jordan when you look at your extensive player development background you just mentioned the draft workout with book over your time what are some of the key attributes that you found in those spaces that have helped not only evaluate players before you get them but then afterwards and developing them and how involved do you plan to be with the next couple of weeks in the draft coming up yeah just my over time it’s you know it’s the guys that have high character um this is a competitive league and you have to trust that that player is going to do exactly what they say or it doesn’t work so having high character um is very important to me and to us the other piece is having great professional habits again coming back to the word showing up on time treating people with respect knowing that there’s something bigger than just yourself and then just over time that work with the high character that you have tends to give you a chance because it again is incredibly tough to be an NBA player it’s incredibly tough to survive for multiple years in this league so those two things is what we will look for um what I’m most excited about looking for in the future um you know the draft and that’s you know I’ve only been here a couple days so I’ve seen a couple draft workouts I’m coming late in this process but yeah that’s what we want the Phoenix Suns to be about coach Richard signs over here um you you talked about earning the right to be here and when you look at your path it’s it’s pretty obvious you know starting out in the video room in in Atlanta you know a room that’s produced guys like Eric Spa and David Griffin who have been pretty successful when you look at your grind that you’ve grinded over the years how much do you think that has prepared you for this particular moment where you know maybe say I could take something from this coach here or this coach here or this situation with this team here and kind of make it into my own with this opportunity for you yes so I think it always starts with the work in the video room to to succeed in the video room you’re going to have to work long hours be available be there when no one is um I think a part of being in the video room you have to be curious to learn um to know that you don’t have all the answers i think I have carried that with me i definitely think in Cleveland Kenny’s the most curious man in basketball there’s other ways to learn um about the game but also best practices in in the training room best practices in the weight room that’s what I strive to do is to be curious and continue to learn i think my path has taught me to to be processoriented again highs and lows wins and losses the help of analytics has helped me there maybe not quite as bad as you think you are or maybe not quite as good um the part of analytics has helped me there just stay steady you know just continue to get better and then to be consistent so you can work but it’s hard to consistently work um to make yourself better and stand out and then I think the last piece of my journey that you know that when you sit back and you think about we’re all competitors it just comes out in different ways so having that competitive edge that fuels your fire fuels your fire that you know there’s going to be people out there and we want all to get to the mountain top and without that fuel that day-to-day grind of it all um it’s really hard to get better and be successful so when I look over my journey I I’m I’m proud of how it’s gone and and now where it’s going to go but those things aren’t going to lead me they’re always going to be a part of me and for that I’m thankful thank you for the question we’re going to clear the stage real quick

New Head Coach of the Phoenix Suns Jordan Ott speaks to the media at his introduction press conference talking about his vision for the team and how he earned the right to be here. Ott answers questions on the current team, his coaching philosophy, and more in his first introduction to the Valley on April 10, 2025.

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