The Cleveland Cavaliers could lose one of their top assistant coaches to the Phoenix Suns. Both Johnnie Bryant and Jordan Ott are on the short list of candidates the Suns have to fill their head coaching vacancy. Chris Quinn (Miami Heat), Dave Bliss (Oklahoma City Thunder), and Sean Sweeney (Dallas Mavericks) are the other current assistant coaches who are in line for the job.
Both Bryant and Ott joined Cleveland’s bench last season after Kenny Atkinson was hired.
Bryant is best known for having a good relationship with Donovan Mitchell. He was his player development coach with the Utah Jazz when he first came into the league and the two still have a great relationship. But assigning the role of just Mitchell’s guy sells short just how good of a coach he is.
“Johnnie has got a bright future,” said New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau in April when asked about Bryant, who spent four years as an associate head coach in New York. “He’s an excellent teacher. He’s done a great job here. It’s sort of similar to the path that Kenny [Atkinson] has taken.”
It is indeed a similar path. Both Atkinson and Bryant have climbed the coaching ranks due to their reputation as being excellent player development coaches.
Ott served as an assistant under Atkinson in both Brooklyn and Cleveland. He spent two years with the Los Angeles Lakers in between those stints.
Ott is thought of as someone around the league who is ready for a head coaching position. We’ll see if that materializes in Phoenix.
Losing either or both coaches would be a tough blow for the Cavs this off-season. However, that’s also something that comes with the territory of being a good team that has coaches who are well-respected around the league.