Chaisson Allen Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Officially Announce Jordan Ott’s Coaching Staff

August 12th, 2025 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have officially announced the coaching staff that will work under new head coach Jordan Ott during his first year on the job. Most, but not all, of Phoenix’s new coaches were previously reported — now they’ve formally been hired.

Here’s the Suns’ new team of assistant coaches:

Jesse Mermuys (story): A longtime NBA assistant who spent the past four seasons with the Magic and has also had stints with the Kings, Lakers, Raptors, Rockets, and Nuggets.
DeMarre Carroll (story): A former NBA forward who transitioned to coaching following his retirement as a player and has worked for the Bucks, the Lakers, and – most recently – the Cavaliers since 2022.
Brian Randle (story): A Wizards assistant last season who previously worked for the Pistons, Suns, and Timberwolves and had a professional playing career overseas.
Chaisson Allen: A carryover from Mike Budenholzer‘s staff who previously served as the head coach of the Wisconsin Herd in the G League from 2021-23.
John Little (story): A veteran G League assistant who was the head coach of the Valley Suns, Phoenix’s NBAGL affiliate, in 2024/25.
Mike Muscala (story): A longtime NBA forward/center who retired as a player last summer and is taking on his first coaching job.
Sean Dwyer: A college coach who spent the past four years as an assistant at Loyola University Chicago, including the 2024/25 season as the team’s associate head coach.

The Suns also officially confirmed that they’ve hired former NBA point guard Mateen Cleaves as a player development/leadership assistant, as previously reported.

Both Cleaves and Dwyer share an alma mater (Michigan State) with Ott and Suns team owner Mat Ishbia. General manager Brian Gregory also began his coaching career as a Spartans assistant from 1990-96 and later returned in the same role from 1999-2003, during which time he overlapped with Ishbia.

Suns To Hire Chad Forcier, Chaisson Allen As Assistant Coaches

May 31st, 2024 at 9:23pm CST by Rory Maher

The Suns plan to hire a couple of assistant coaches to join new head coach Mike Budenholzer‘s staff.

League sources tell Sarah Todd of The Deseret News that Phoenix will hire Jazz assistant Chad Forcier to work with his longtime colleague. Forcier and Budenholzer coached together in San Antonio before Budenholzer became a head coach and then Forcier spent four years on Budenholzer’s staff in Milwaukee, according to Todd.

In addition to Forcier, the Jazz lost assistant Lamar Skeeter to Charlotte this offseason. Utah plans to promote people from within the organization instead of hiring new coaches, Todd reports. In particular, Sean Sheldon will be promoted to a front-of-bench role.

Phoenix will also be hiring Chaisson Allen as an assistant, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).

Allen was a highly regarded college player for Northeastern and spent five seasons playing internationally before transitioning to coaching. He has mostly coached in the G League, including a two-year stint as head coach of the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s affiliate. He’s another person Budenholzer is familiar with, since their time with the Bucks overlapped.

David Fizdale and Vince Legarza will reportedly be assistant coaches under Budenholzer as well.

Central Notes: Cavs, Simmons, Bucks, Pistons

September 23rd, 2021 at 2:12pm CST by Rory Maher

Given how frequently the Cavaliers have been linked to Ben Simmons during the past few months, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com contemplates what it might take for the Cavs to acquire Simmons — and whether they should.

Fedor notes that the Cavaliers, as currently constructed, aren’t an ideal fit for a player with Simmons’ skill set, because they lack the shooters necessary to open the floor for his open-court driving and passing. So even if they did acquire him, they would almost certainly have to make more moves in order to build the team around him.

Fedor speculates that a package of Kevin Love, Collin Sexton, and a pair of protected first-round picks might not entice the 76ers more than other offers they’ve received, or ones they could receive in the weeks ahead. He also adds that while the Cavs have no “untouchables” on the roster, rookie Evan Mobley and improving point guard Darius Garland are the closest bets, and are considered very unlikely to be moved.

Fedor says that there are ultimately more questions than answers to the issue of whether the Cavs should go all-in for Simmons, adding that the team should be patient in its approach to see if the 76ers’ asking price might lessen over time. The article is worth checking out in full.

There’s more from the Central division:

The Bucks recently held a free-agent minicamp for their last remaining training camp spot, per our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Former NBA players Allonzo Trier, Antonio Blakeney, Chris McCullough and Josh Gray were among the participants. The Bucks currently only have 13 players with fully guaranteed contracts, so winning a training camp battle could very well be a viable pathway to making the team.
The Bucks‘ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, recently named Chaisson Allen as their new head coach. Allen was a highly regarded college player for Northeastern and spent five seasons playing internationally. He spent last season as an assistant for the Long Island Nets. In the same press release, the Herd also announced that Tony Bollier will serve as the team’s general manager and Arte Culver will be the new assistant general manager.
Keith Langlois of Pistons.com explores what the Pistons should do with their open roster spot. The team currently has 14 players under guaranteed contracts after acquiring and buying out DeAndre Jordan. Langlois posits the team could convert Luka Garza from a two-way contract to the main 15-man roster, though the plan is for him to spend significant time in the G league. Langlois notes that converting Garza would free up a two-way spot for summer league standout Jamorko Pickett, who’s currently on an Exhibit 10 deal. Langlois also says the team could keep the spot open for maximum roster flexibility, perhaps adding a 15th man later in the season.