Head Coach Jordan Ott Media Availability | Phoenix Suns Training Camp Day 1

Head Coach Jordan Ott Media Availability | Phoenix Suns Training Camp Day 1

Glad that one’s over. Goodach [Applause] training camp. It always goes back to like what I’ve done. It’s like the hardest part is not being involved in the drills, you know, cuz you delegate some of the drills and then that hour before when everyone’s on the court, the individual workouts, that hour was a long hour. But then once we got going it it was great. What do you feel like you got to stay or what did you want to [Music] just some of the priorities of uh you know our style of play. We do believe our our competitive advantage is our style of play. We hit that right off the bat. um you know and then just the overall competitiveness of the group as we got through the practice and through the details of teaching some of the drills and our base offense and defense then we got to playing and it got pretty competitive pretty quick. Only other thing I have defic right right up the line is that something that we’re looking to do as well with this group because you have multiple guys Yeah, definitely think that’s where we’re leaning. You know, we’re going to try to do it. You always have to adjust to your personnel. So, um it will be a more aggressive defense. That’s what we are installing. We’re going to see. We’re going to see in the preseason exactly where we can tweak who we have on the floor, how it looks. The reality is the defense changes with who you have on the floor against who you’re playing. Same with the offense. Um but yeah, ideally it’s a pressure defense. Jordan, I was curious for you with this stage of the season where you’re at. A theme of yesterday was how much the NBA is changing like in the last like year or two even are those things that you as a coach like stylistically will alter based on what’s going on in the league like trying to address some of those things or you going to stick to like what has worked like what’s the balance of that? I think there’s a I think there’s a balance. It’s not only what’s worked that we’ve seen but also to your best players, you know. I think we’ve done a good job of studying our elite scorers and how they fit into a system that we’d like to play. Um, but to think that the offensive rebounding rate around the league was the same at the end as it was in the beginning, that wasn’t the case. So, by the end of the year, you know, everyone was trying to crash a little bit more. Um, we’ll continue to monitor. We have an idea of where it’s heading, but we’re going to be adjustable just like everything else. Past coaches have talked about the balance between crashing and defense in transition. You know where I was going. Uh what’s the balance for you with that? We think that there’s certain players on our team that can do it. Can go all out to the glass and still get back. But there is a baseline of hey, we’re we’re in this possession until it’s the other teams. So all five guys have a role in the end of our offensive possession that don’t take us out of position as we start the defensive transition. Jordan, you looked uh pretty comfortable out there for your first official NBA practice. How long have you had that first practice scripted either in your mind or or on paper? And second part of that is did you get a sleep practice? Uh I think we did a good job of organizing oursel ahead of time um to know exactly how this first one feels or look. I think we don’t know until you show up and go through it. There’s some stuff that we wanted to stress, but it I’ve looked at other past teams I’ve been on in in the first practice. Some of that didn’t even carry over to the first month, the second month. So, I think we we have a good grasp of what we want to install, how we want to get there by the first game, but we’re also testing some stuff. Does it fit our group? Um, and yeah, I was up before my alarm today, but it was good. A lot of the a lot of the players yesterday they were surprised with how Kavon has. What have you seen out there from him? Yeah, the same like you could hear him in September open gym whether he was playing or on the sidelines he was definitely talking. You know our job as coaches and people and mentors around him is allow him to be himself. And if that’s him and that’s his spirit, we want to keep continuing to hear him. Uh I think today it’s a lot for those young guys. We tried to prep him the other night. Uh just be prepared that it’s a lot. We’ll help him again as this this preseason goes along, but we could hear him a little bit today, but I’m sure if you ask him right now, he’s spinning a little bit. Yeah. You mentioned too thrown at them as a coach. How do you kind of help them navigate that and understand more? Yeah, that you know there’s 24 hours in the day. There’s only a couple hours that they’re here on the court. There’s other ways to reach them. And I think that’s our job as coaches to get to them. And where they need help, how do we maximize our time, not only on the court, but with them wherever, film room, wait room, lunchroom, there’s other avenues there that we can use to help them. Um, but we know it’s going to be a lot. We know it’s going to be a lot for them. And that’s okay. Everyone went through it. All the vets went through it. By the time the regular season rolls around, they’ll be ready to go. You mentioned Jayen as you look at the way teams try to guard them with multiple bodies. How could process dynamics help to open not just to leverage their talent for their skill but yeah cutting anytime someone moves towards the rim you got to guard them. So it doesn’t matter who it is anytime it’s someone’s going to the rim you got to guard them. Our challenge is if we move multiple bodies to the rim they got to be at different planes. They got to be in different spaces so we’re not on top of each other. and then knowing exactly when to cut because the defense showed us this look. Now we’ll cut. We’re in the early stages of it. It’s probably going to be some growing pains here early in the preseason of what it looks like. But the idea is to move the bodies to involve everyone else, but also give space to those guys. Your patience tested and you know what you want to see. You got to figure out if you have the personnel to do exactly what you want to see. your patience tested and trying to implement with your heart, your nose, but you may not always carry out that way. I just have to get some more pain. My patience gets more tested at home. I got a four and a two-year-old than uh coaching basketball. So, that’s what we signed up to do. Like, we’re going to help them every time that they’re around us. Um we’re going to help be a part of the solution that we’re going to find. So, doesn’t matter how long it takes. It’s whatever it takes um to get the job done. I would ask about you went to China as a trip and now that schedule, but do you have more time of that? Did you start it earlier than you normally would? I think so. But that travel is, you know, it’s real. You know, we’re going to lose a couple days going there, coming back. Uh but we’re not going to make an excuse. You know, we’re going to try to maximize the time that we have on the flight. We’ll obviously maximize the practice time we have, but I don’t see it as a negative. We’ll turn it into, you know, a way to work together more, whether it’s team bonding or something on the court. Were you on the staff in 2019 when you guys went went there, right? Was there something you learned from that experience that you’ll take over to this one now? That was so long ago in a different role, uh, different team. Um, I remember the long trip. That’s what I remember. But that there was a team binding piece if you know if you remember what was going on at that time there was a team binding piece that helped this. Um, but I mean to go be one of the teams selected to go is a pretty big deal to not only the players but the organization. What about the influence relationship and how to help you Steve Nash? I think we talked about, you know, just being in the area and being a Phoenix son was a no-brainer. was just what opportunity he wanted and how we could help him feel the best to help this group. Uh Steve Clifford’s been in the seat. He’s been in the seat multiple different teams. He was a longtime assistant. He’s seen the league. I did have a prior relationship with him, so that was extremely helpful. And I had to beg to get him here. You know, he you know, he had plans to just take it off a little bit outside of basketball. I also think him he’s on the East Coast, so him being up early day after games, it’s it’s good for me to just call someone outside the building with all that experience and someone I really trust. Um, you know, we’re thankful. I’m very grateful that he’s here. Thanks, sir. Thank y’all. See you tomorrow.

Head Coach Jordan Ott speaks to the media following Day 1 of Phoenix Suns Training Camp on September 25th, 2025. Ott talks about establishing identity on day 1, helping the young guys talk more, doing “whatever it takes” to help the guys get better, and what it’s like to have Steve Nash in the building.

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