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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.

Pacific Notes: Doncic, Richard, Suns, Little

July 19th, 2025 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers have been checking off items from Luka Doncic‘s wish list this summer, and they’re encouraged that he’s taken an active role in the process, writes Dan Woike of The Athletic. Doncic’s extension restrictions won’t lift until August 2, but his enthusiasm for building the roster provides confidence that he’s committed to the organization for the long term.

Sources tell Woike that Doncic expressed his desire to management to add a “rim-running center, shooting help and defensive support.” They responded by signing free agents Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia, with Marcus Smart about to join them once he clears waivers following a buyout with the Wizards. Woike’s sources say that Doncic reached out to Ayton and Smart and convinced them to come to L.A.

Woike adds that the Lakers posted an interview on Saturday where Doncic says he wants to be known as “the guy that brought championships to the city.” While details of an extension still have to be worked out, it seems increasingly likely that Doncic will have a new deal in place before the start of the season.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Longtime Warriors fan Will Richard got his wish when he wound up going to Golden State with the 56th pick in last month’s draft, per Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. The Warriors were the 16th of the 17 pre-draft workouts Richard conducted after winning a national title at Florida, and he believes they’re a good fit for his skills. “I like that we play fast,” Richard said. “They want you to play free, but on the other end you’ve got to guard with ball pressure and stuff like that. Just playing hard. Playing fast and playing physical.”
Owner Mat Ishbia had visions of a dream team when he united Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, but the Suns turned into a cautionary tale about the dangers of free spending in the apron era, observes Zach Kram of ESPN. Second apron restrictions forced Ishbia to break up his ‘big three” this summer by trading Durant to Houston and negotiating a buyout with Beal, who will sign with the Clippers. Kram goes through the reasons behind Phoenix’s demise, including the incompatibility of its stars, unwise spending and poor trade decisions.
John Little, who served as head coach of the Suns‘ G League affiliate last season, will join new head coach Jordan Ott’s staff, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Little is currently serving as an assistant to Summer League head coach DeMarre Carroll.

Pacific Notes: Hield, Knecht, Hyland, Eubanks, Suns

July 18th, 2024 at 8:28pm CST by Luke Adams

New Warriors sharpshooter Buddy Hield, who ranks 22nd all-time among NBA players in career three-pointers, will be the de facto replacement for the player who ranks sixth on that all-time list (Klay Thompson). Asked this week if he feels pressure to replicate the production and the outside shooting that Thompson provided for years in Golden State, Hield downplayed that idea.

“There’s no pressure,” Hield said, per Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Just come and do my job. What Klay has done for this organization has been tremendous. I love Klay a lot. I’ve watched him over the years. He’s special. The way he can get hot and the way he can just change the game and be the two-way player that he is, and the champion that he is. So, I don’t look at it as pressure. I think it’s fun just being in that role and seeing if I can get the same looks he got.”

Hield has never been as effective an all-around player as Thompson was in his prime years, and he certainly can’t match the former Warriors’ postseason accomplishments, having appeared in a playoff game for the first time this spring. However, the two players’ career shooting numbers are quite similar — Thompson has made 3.1 of 7.6 three-pointers per game (41.3%) in 793 contests, while Hield has knocked down 3.0 of 7.6 per game (40.0%) in 632 outings.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Dalton Knecht has been the best player on the Lakers‘ Summer League roster and already looks like a potential steal as the No. 17 pick in this year’s draft, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who says the rookie forward projects to be in the top nine of L.A.’s rotation in the regular season. Entering Thursday’s contest, Knecht has averaged 22.0 PPG with a .412 3PT% in his first two games in Vegas.
Bones Hyland saw more playing time for the Clippers during the final month-and-a-half of the 2023/24 season and won’t have Russell Westbrook ahead of him on the depth chart in ’24/25. However, with Kris Dunn and Kevin Porter Jr. now in the mix in a Los Angeles backcourt that also features James Harden, Norman Powell, and Terance Mann, there’s still no clear path to regular playing time for Hyland, who remains on the trade block, according to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Although Drew Eubanks decided well ahead of his player option deadline to opt out of his deal and become a free agent, he wasn’t necessarily set on leaving the Suns, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays. “The interest was always there for me to return (to Phoenix),” said Eubanks, who ultimately agreed to a deal with Utah. “The notion of it being a ‘mutual split’ is just factually false. There were a lot of conversations about me coming back this next year from the moment the season ended and into free agency. At the end of the day, there were other opportunities and I had to make the best decision for myself and my family. Loved my year in Phoenix.”
The Suns will hire John Little as the head coach of their new NBA G League affiliate, the Valley Suns, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Little was previously part of G League coaching staffs with Maine and Wisconsin.