Head Coach Jordan Ott talks Offseason, Rookies, & Summer League | Phoenix Suns Media Availability

Head Coach Jordan Ott talks Offseason, Rookies, & Summer League | Phoenix Suns Media Availability

Coach, obviously the latest news is liver signed him to a two-way was out all last season with the hip. What kind of feedback are you getting in terms of where he’s at physically in terms of trying to get back to playing? Yeah, you know, I think Isaiah, you know, brings a shooting piece, size piece. Um, I think we’re we’re looking on this roster. he has been injured, but now you know he’s back. He’s fully healthy. He’s been here. Um excited to see him more this summer into training camp and into the season. Curious when you look at this and then the obvious before before that you see how you see the roster right now with Kevin being traded, the rookies now that it’s kind of forming. What what’s what’s your take on it? Yeah, you know, right now we’re we’re we’re focused on the summer league group, you know, um it’s excited to see all the new pieces in the gym right now, especially this draft class. Um led by Ryan and also as we progress on through summer league. You know, it’s not that many practices, so we’re just learning our our guys as we go through. Super excited to have them in the building. The the building definitely has a great energy right now. Um excited here to practice in their day and get to Vegas. What have you seen from Kaman so far? we know how big and long he is. You know, it’s obvious um his ability to run. Um just creates a different dynamic. You know, the vertical spacing that he has above the rim and then just the overall size and rim protection. You can feel it every second he’s out there. I think again just his you saw it yesterday even at the press conference like his spirit, his uh upbeat personality um and he communicates on the basketball floor which will be great because in summer league because there’s not a ton of ton of people there you’ll be able to hear him. So you know we’re learning more about him just like he’s learning about our system and and his teammates. Um but he’s he’s been great. In Cleveland you guys had the dual bigs because of how versatile those two guys were. You see a lot of dual big lineups around the league. Is that thing I know you’re focused on summerly, but is that something you kind of project for Kaman and maybe Mark to do together or is that something that might take more time to grow into? I think every option’s on the table. I think in and you see the league um you know some teams really really stressed it to a different level. Just throw it up there and go get the rebound. I think in Cleveland it was probably a little more skilled than that um at times um just because of the spacing of of the four at that time. Evan, uh, Miami’s tried it. You know, um, the thing about this league, it changes. So, whatever worked five, 10 years ago, it’s ever moving. And, you know, I think summer league, you know, I’ve been telling our group is what what else is going on out there. You know, how Memphis is playing. You know, there’s other these other teams that are trying stuff in summer league that where we’re trying to learn what best fits our group and what we can take into training camp and the season. Can you tell me a little bit talking about come on popping out and shooting threes and being in the corner. Is that something that was any anything of a surprise to you guys seeing him shoot the ball? You know as an NBA coach like you get into these draft process pretty late in um you know just the way the NBA works. You’re so dialed into NBA the next scout your previous game you know the college game you don’t get to see a ton with Kaman’s ability. He’s so skilled with his ability to to space the floor. I, you know, I don’t think you want to put any expectations on him at this time. What he does provide right away is, you know, his rolling ability, the ability to get on the rim. Um, but I do think because of the possibility of him and also playing together, even at summer league, that you’re going to see him on the perimeter a little bit. So, you know, I I don’t think he put any guard rails right now. You just see what he can do. Um, I think he’s surprised himself a little bit already. Um, but you got to do it in the game. You got to do it for 82 games. There’s a there’s a long path, long road ahead. Coach, how would you describe your first what month to have as an NBA head coach? Busy. I think busy. Um, there’s a lot of things that go on, I think, as an assistant that you see, but um, shifting over that that one seat. Um, you know, again, just blessed to be in a position, um, in a great place, excited to to get, you know, be here with my family, um, after summer league. Um, but yeah, I think you just wake up, you every day, and you try to do the best you can, try to learn what has gone on here the last couple years. Um, learn our guys. Um, you know, we now we have them in the gym. Now we’re like moving on to basketball, which which as a basketball coach I appreciate. reason I asked because Ryan also both said they coming here late for their tour days and you’re still here and so are you burning candles at both ends trying to get as much as you I feel good. I feel great. I mean there’s there’s no uh lack of whatever you know lack of sleep doesn’t really exist. I um you know what you sign up for. I mean it’s easy now my my family’s away so um but yeah this is what we signed up for. I think it’s exciting. You know, this is a time of year where where you’re like collecting a lot of data, collecting a lot of information on your team, on the organization, on the group, our staff. So, you know, again, I’m grateful to be in the spot. Um, but it’s cool to see those guys come back, too. You know, they they have it’s, you know, almost every night those guys are back back together, which is again pretty cool. Deari, obviously Deari is someone you work with in Cleveland, you work with LA. What but what is it about him that that that you wanted to bring him along with you. Yeah, I mean I’ I’ve seen DC multiple spots as a player and then now as a coach. Um you’re going to see it, you’re going to feel it, you know, when he talks to you guys, he has a different way about him. He has a positive outlook in life. He uh chose to come into coaching as after playing, which I think is is unique. um you know and he’s knows that he has growth ahead and I’ve seen him take steps as a player and then now as a coach and uh yeah I’m lucky to have him here. We’re lucky to have him here but I’m also lucky to see him at different spots of his career and really his life. So I’m I’m excited for his next step, our next step together. What makes Kobe such a talented shooter? He makes shots. That that helps. I do think like he has an ability to uh to shoot off the move which not everyone has in today’s game. You know, I think it’s kind of gone away like off of screens. Um but his shooting ability comes from reps and uh his confidence to take tough shots. He’s a little bigger which helps get him off. Um but he is a shooter. It’s it’s a different line. It’s a different speed. Um, but we want him to be a really good basketball player. It’s not just the shooting piece that we’re interested in. It’s the human again that you guys saw yesterday at the press conference. Um, he’s got an edge about him from where he’s from. Um, the family piece is real. Like he really uh has a sense of pride about where he’s come from and uh yeah, again, just another guy we’re excited about. Did you work with Deari much? You guys were Atlanta together more than a decade ago? Well, Brooklyn for sure. So, Atlanta, then he went to Toronto, then coming back to Brooklyn. Um, yeah, definitely you could ask him some questions of what what exactly we did on the court, but yeah, definitely both those stop spots and then he went away, started his coaching career and then LA and Cleveland. His playing style and as a junkyard dog, like how much of that is what you guys are trying to have here, too? Yeah, absolutely. I think his path like not only his style on the court but first round pick really didn’t get out of those four years of own that rookie deal. He had to find his own way um bounced around a little bit then found a home found someone that valued him and then you know he was able to have some playoff success and his career really took off. So his path is easily relatable to these guys that he mentioned right to him on day one like you don’t know where this journey is going to take you. So his path uh wasn’t always straight up, you know, he had a couple bounces, couple rough patches in it. So I he’s been able to convey that to the guys and I think it’s good for our guys to see someone like that now make it on the other side with some experience. How much is it relatable for having Deari with his playing style translate to what Rashier’s doing in St. Joe’s? That length and that shooting ability, all things defensively. Yeah, I think I think on the summer league team it’s multiple guys, right? is Ryan and Rashir. I think uh you know again it’s both like I think his shooting piece came later in Deari’s career. Um I saw him a little bit later in his career. Um but yet he was known as more of a you know a defender, a cutter, a guy that’s going to get on the glass and get you extra possessions. That’s how he started. then he saw the game evolve and uh then he shifted into more of a catch and shoot three-point shooter, more of a slasher. Um but the defensive piece never went away and I think you know we all like to talk about offense like even me when I started talking about Kamana I talked about as offense but in reality when you’re a young guy in this league it’s really the defensive piece um that gets you on the floor and keeps you on the floor. Have you seen that share to that point because he he talked about you know at St. Joe, it was more of a 3 and D role, but it kind of felt like he feels he can do more and evolve more as a player. Yeah, I think we will start there. You know, you start with what you’re good at. You don’t try to come to this level and do something that you’re not not good at. So, the 3 and D piece, if you could do that at a high level, that makes for a long career, too. So, um I saw when I was watching his college film was first off, they had an NBA offense, which I thought was unique. uh the way they played was definitely NBA actions, NBA concepts, and then he played like a wing on the perimeter. Even though like he said yesterday, like he was, you know, a big at certain points of his career, he didn’t play like a big. Um the way he moved, the way they used him, like even off of screens at his size was a bit unique. Coach, other thing I have, you said moving over to that one seat. You went from someone as an assistant trying to get a job. Now you’re head coach trying to hire assistant. What’s that shift been like for you in the process of building a staff? I think when you’re on staffs, you uh you know, when you’re on a really good staff and uh you know, my last handful of years, I was blessed to be on really really good staffs where we all got along. Um no egos. um everyone tried to help each other and then it’s a long season so you want to appreciate and like who you’re with on your coaching staff. So I’ve tried to be really diligent in that here. Um I know we’re building something unique here. Um I want those guys around me that um I can lean on because I don’t know exactly what this is going to be. I don’t know all these steps in it but guys that have been through it different programs than even myself. So, I’ve tried to broaden my my scope a little bit, but then also the piece of like ingraining yourself with the guys and how we’re going to build this environment, have a feel for what exactly that vibe and that environment should feel like on a day-to-day basis is really important. And I think you’ll see like us on the court more like you’re going to see some coaches out there building sweat equity with our players um through player development, through practice. Um we are all in this together. So, knowing that on the front end, I’ve I’ve taken my time to try to build this thing out. Right. Thanks, coach. Thank you, guys. We’ll see you around.

Phoenix Suns Head Coach Jordan Ott speaks to the media following Summer League practice on July 8th, 2025. Ott talks what he’s seen from the rookies, returners in Dunn and Oso, and the upcoming trip to Summer League for the squad.

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