The valley of the Sun has not seen the light in each of the last two seasons, but the Phoenix Suns are in the process of picking up the pieces. After getting swept in 2024, and missing the playoffs entirely in 2025, the Suns needed to make sweeping changes.
Phoenix traded away Kevin Durant for a haul that included Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and Khaman Maluach, the tenth pick in this year’s draft. They also traded for Mark Williams on draft night, and selected Rasheer Fleming in the second round.
All of that combined with Devin Booker signing an extension until 2030, there are pretty good vibes in Phoenix right now. They have remade their entire frontcourt and upgraded on the defensive end of the floor. However, their most impactful move was not roster related.
New Suns coach Jordan Ott significantly changes the team’s trajectory
Ott has been a well-respected assistant coach in the league for more than a decade. He has worked for Kenny Atkinson in Brooklyn, and Cleveland, and was a key part of the player development staff.
Most notably, Ott was tasked with speed lining the development of Cavs star Evan Mobley. Mobley enjoyed the best year of his career last year, earning his first All-Star appearance, the Defensive Player of the Year award, and an All-NBA second team appearance.
Atkinson obviously gets more of the credit, as it was his offensive system, but Ott worked closely with the star big man throughout the year. In addition to that, the Cavs played a lot of double-big lineups, spearheaded by Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. Judging by the Suns’ offseason moves, it seems like Ott wants to deploy a similar scheme.
Cleveland had a lot of success with their two seven-footers sharing the court last season. Mobley, and Allen had a +11.5 net rating together, including a stifling 110.3 defensive rating. The Cavs offense also did not miss a beat with the two bigs, as they had a 121.7 offensive rating.
Part of the reason is that the Cavs had two dynamic guards in Darius Garland, and Donovan Mitchell setting the table, but the team did run a lot of big-to-big actions.
The Suns don't have the Cavs' talent, but Ott can make it work
Maluach is reportedly developing rapidly, and has been an early standout in training camp, while Williams is an imposing presence himself in the paint. Spacing could be an issue with the two, which could lead with Ott pairing one of them with Fleming, who can play power forward.
Either way, Phoenix has a lot more positional size now, and doesn’t have to ask guys like Royce O’Neale, and Grayson Allen to play out of position.
The West is set to be a bloodbath, but the Suns have positioned themselves nicely to compete. With Ott providing stability on the bench, a bounce back season from Booker, and more overall depth, Phoenix could become a dark-horse out West.