Suns lookahead. New coach receiving praise from previous co-workers

Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder saw Jordan Ott having a future as a head coach way before he became one with the Phoenix Suns.

The two worked together in Atlanta under Mike Budenholzer for one season in 2013-14. Snyder was an assistant while Ott worked as a video coordinator for his first NBA job.

“A lot of it was tactical stuff, had to do with how to guard something,” said Snyder, in recalling conversations he and Ott had in Atlanta. “How to attack something. Just remember him with DeMarre Carroll and the work that they did together.”

Carroll played for the Hawks when Ott was there. Carroll is now an assistant under him.

“You can tell a guy has the respect of the players,” Snyder continued. “His intellectual ability to analyze the game tactically. Over the course of the years, those are discussions that we continue to have periodically. I have tremendous respect for him, excited for him and have been for a long time.”

Ott has led the Suns to a winning start in his first year as an NBA head coach. He is Phoenix's fourth head coach in four seasons.

“Doesn’t surprise me with the success that he’s having,” said Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, who worked with Ott for one season with the Brooklyn Nets in 2020-21 under Steve Nash.

“Has (Phoenix) on the right path. Doing a lot of different things versatility wise on both ends. Has really high-level players, but you have to come in and implement structure and a system and those things, and that’s not always the easiest thing to do, but you can see that they’ve already bought into that defensively.”

Players appear to have bought into Ott's approach.

“He's a player's coach,” Suns forward Dillon Brooks said. “He's always asking us for our feedback. He got the locker room really quick.”

Phoenix continued its first season under Ott on Nov. 29 against the Denver Nuggets at Mortgage Matchup Center in the second of a back-to-back. The Nuggets blitzed the Suns in their first matchup, 133-111, Oct. 25 in Denver.

The Suns then begin a three-game road trip starting Dec. 1 versus the Los Angeles Lakers.

They continue this stretch Dec. 5 against the Houston Rockets and conclude it Dec. 8 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Phoenix lost to the Rockets, 114-92, Nov. 24 at home, but stunned the T-Wolves in comeback fashion, 114-113, Nov. 21, at home.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New head coach Jordan Ott leading Phoenix Suns to surprise start