Suns narrow coaching search, invite five candidates for interviews: Sources
• Chris Quinn, Miami Heat assistant coach
• Johnnie Bryant, Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach
• Jordan Ott, Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach
• Dave Bliss, Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach
• Sean Sweeney, Dallas Mavericks assistant coach
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Since assuming controlling ownership in 2023, Mat Ishbia has hired multiple established head coaches with championship pedigree. However, the finalists have not been NBA head coaches.
Quinn is a former NBA guard who has worked with the Heat for 10 seasons, learning under Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra. He has interviewed for multiple head-coaching positions, and last year, Spoelstra told reporters that Quinn was more than ready for a promotion.
Bryant is in his first season on Kenny Atkinson's staff in Cleveland, which won 64 games and the Eastern Conference's best regular-season record. He has also worked in assistant roles with the Utah Jazz (under head coach Quin Snyder) and New York Knicks (under Tom Thibodeau).
Ott got his NBA start working in Atlanta as video coordinator. He later worked for the Brooklyn Nets under Atkinson, Jacque Vaughn and Steve Nash, as well as for the Los Angeles Lakers under Darvin Ham. Like Ishbia and new general manager Brian Gregory, Ott also has a Michigan State background, having worked in support roles under coach Tom Izzo. Ott last year interviewed for the head-coaching position with the Charlotte Hornets.
Bliss is in his sixth season and second stint with the Thunder. He initially worked in Oklahoma City as a video assistant and development coach. From 2015 to 2018, he worked with the Knicks before returning to the Thunder in 2019.
Sweeney started his career as a video coordinator with the Brooklyn Nets and advanced to assistant coach under then-coach Jason Kidd. He worked the next four seasons as an assistant coach under Kidd with the Milwaukee Bucks. While there, he formed a close relationship with star Giannis Antetokounmpo. From there, Sweeney worked three seasons under Dwane Casey in Detroit. In 2021, Sweeney re-joined Kidd in Dallas, where he has since worked as an assistant coach.
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Built around the star power of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, the Suns this season had the league's most expensive roster. But they went 36-46, missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season. On April 14, Ishbia fired head coach Mike Budenholzer after one season and said he was as frustrated as his fan base.
Two weeks later, Ishbia promoted Gregory, the biggest move in a front office revamp. A college basketball lifer, Gregory had spent two years in the organization, one as a consultant and the second as vice president of player programming. Longtime GM James Jones shifted to a senior advisory role.
In his introductory news conference, Gregory promised a long and thorough search for a head coach. A main focus involved changing the team's identity. Gregory said the Suns need an effective communicator, but also someone who values toughness, physicality and defense, which are qualities the Suns have lacked. Their 117.7 defensive rating this season ranked 27th in the league.
The Suns are also likely to change the roster, although as a second-apron team, that might not be easy. Phoenix explored moving Durant at the trade deadline and might do so again this summer. The 15-time All-Star remains one of the game's great scorers, but he'll turn 37 in September. Durant is under contract through the 2025-26 season at a salary of $54.7 million.
Beal's situation is more complicated. Since Phoenix traded for the three-time All-Star in 2023, he has struggled to stay healthy, missing 29 games in each of the last two seasons. He has two years remaining on a contract worth nearly $111 million. Beal also has a no-trade clause.
Ishbia has said publicly that the Suns will not trade Booker, a fan favorite who has spent all 10 of his NBA seasons in Phoenix and last season became the organization's career scoring leader. Booker is eligible this summer for a two-year extension worth $149.8 million.
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The new head coach will mark Phoenix's fourth in as many seasons.
Ishbia and Jones fired Monty Williams in 2023 after the Suns lost to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals. The next year, they dismissed Frank Vogel after the Minnesota Timberwolves swept the Suns in the first round of the playoffs. Budenholzer, an Arizonan who arrived with great fanfare, didn't even make it to the postseason.
(Photo of Devin Booker: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
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