{"id":693744,"date":"2026-04-02T11:28:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T11:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/693744\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T11:28:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T11:28:32","slug":"how-close-the-phoenix-suns-came-to-going-a-different-direction-at-head-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/693744\/","title":{"rendered":"How close the Phoenix Suns came to going a different direction at head coach"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX \u2014 The Phoenix Suns nearly took a different path in their coaching search last summer, almost bringing a two-time NABC Coach of the Year to the Valley.<\/p>\n

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Tom Izzo, head coach of Michigan State Spartans men\u2019s basketball, spoke on The Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday and recalled a conversation he had with a colleague. Izzo then revealed he was in serious discussions about bringing his expertise to Phoenix.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI [had] more than a couple job offers in the NBA and looked at one last year with Phoenix,\u201d Izzo said. \u201cYou know, and my former player, Mat Ishbia\u2026 That was a hard thing to turn down because, number one, I kind of wanted to go with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked directly if the Suns offered him the head coaching position after the club fired former head coach Mike Budenholzer, Izzo made it clear there was a level of interest on both sides.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked seriously about it, let\u2019s say that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Michigan State coach Tom Izzo lifts the NCAA championship trophy after the win over Florida, April 3, 2000 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Mateen Cleaves is at right. \u00a9 Eric Seals \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Msu Florida Championship Basketball<\/p>\n

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The revelation offers insight into how close one of college basketball\u2019s most established figures came to making the jump to the NBA. Izzo has led the Spartans since 1995 and won a national championship in 2000.<\/p>\n

The potential move would have paired a trusted coach with Ishbia, creating an established relationship and continuity at the professional level. The opportunity to test his program-building philosophy in a different environment could have altered the culture in the desert.<\/p>\n

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Jan 9, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Jordan Ott against the New York Knicks at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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However, the Michigan State head coach believed it was best to remain at the collegiate level, ultimately leading to Jordan Ott\u2019s hire as head coach of Phoenix. Still, the comments reflect how fluid coaching paths can be and how college leaders continue to draw interest from NBA teams.<\/p>\n

It also leaves a lingering question: Where would the Suns be if Izzo had made the jump to the Valley?<\/p>\n

*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, and exclusive content. SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*Wendy Lopez is a reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow her on her X account, @wlopezde<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX \u2014 The Phoenix Suns nearly took a different path in their coaching search last summer, almost bringing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":693745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3791],"tags":[7,15006,2559,3224,1739,1995,3491,6,191,2065,472,4045,604,3226],"class_list":{"0":"post-693744","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix-suns","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-crisler-center","10":"tag-head-coach","11":"tag-mat-ishbia","12":"tag-michigan","13":"tag-michigan-state","14":"tag-michigan-state-spartans","15":"tag-nba","16":"tag-new-york-knicks","17":"tag-phoenix","18":"tag-phoenix-suns","19":"tag-phoenixsuns","20":"tag-suns","21":"tag-tom-izzo"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116334884055664193","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=693744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/693745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=693744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=693744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=693744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}