Suns new coach Jordan Ott explains how he plans to prove his talent
Phoenix Suns news head coach Jordan Ott talks about his philosophy and general manager Brian Gregory speaks to why they chose Ott.
- Durant played for three coaches in three seasons with the Suns.
- The Suns are now expected to move forward with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal leading the team.
The Kevin Durant era is over in the Valley.
The Phoenix Suns have traded the superstar forward to the Houston Rockets, according to ESPN. Durant has one year remaining on his four-year, $194-million contract.
In return, the Suns acquired guard Jalen Green, forward Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and five second-round picks, according to ESPN.
The Suns acquired Durant before the 2023 trade deadline in a monstrous move that made them instant championship contenders, but they never even reached the Western Conference finals with the two-time NBA Finals MVP.
Phoenix entertained offers for Durant before the 2025 trade deadline in February, but he shut them down.
After the deadline, Durant said it’s just business and that “anyone can be up for auction.”
This was months after Suns team owner Mat Ishbia and then general manager James Jones said before the 2024-25 season that the team loved Durant.
The Suns have now parted ways with the two-time finals MVP and future first-ballot Hall of Famer less than three calendar years removed from acquiring him from Brooklyn in a blockbuster deal before the 2023 trade deadline.
Phoenix sent the Suns Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks to the Nets for Durant and T.J. Warren, who had previously played for the Suns.
This was Ishbia’s initial splash as the new team owner that immediately put the Suns on a championship-or-bust quest.
Durant averaged 26.8 points in 145 games, made second team All-NBA in his first full season with the franchise in 2023-24, but the Suns fell short of those title aspirations.
Phoenix didn’t even make the playoffs this past season as Durant missed the last seven games with an ankle injury. The last image of Durant in a Phoenix uniform was him being helped off the court at PHX Arena to the locker room after suffering the injury in the second half.
Durant played for three different coaches in three seasons in Phoenix – Monty Williams, Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer. The Suns reached the playoffs in those two first two seasons, but they lost to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets in the second round of the 2023 playoffs and were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round after the 2023-24 season.
Durant averaged 28.4 points in 15 playoff games, but Phoenix went 6-9 in those games.
The Suns fired Budenholzer after winning just 36 games and failing to even make the play-in tournament this past season. This was the start to the “changes” Ishbia promised days after the firing.
They elevated Brian Gregory from vice president of player programming to general manager and shifted James Jones to senior adviser. The Suns then hired former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott to replace Budenholzer, but trading Durant is by far the biggest change to date.
With Bradley Beal having a no-trade clause that makes him difficult to move, and Devin Booker being the franchise player, Durant was, in essence, the odd man out, despite being the team’s best player.
Phoenix’s initial pairing of Durant and Booker gave them a dynamic scoring duo. They averaged a combined 62.7 points in the 2023 playoffs.
The Suns chose not to run it back with Williams as the head coach after the 2022-23 season, firing him and replacing him with Vogel. They then acquired Beal in a deal that sent Chris Paul to the Washington Wizards. Paul later joined the Golden State Warriors.
The trade created the Big 3 of Booker, Durant and Beal, raising the championship stakes even higher along with a player payroll that exceeded the league’s second tax apron.
They later dealt Deandre Ayton in a three-team deal with Damian Lillard going to Milwaukee and 7-footer Jusuf Nurkic joining the Suns.
Phoenix went 45-33 in 78 games with Booker, Durant and Beal sharing the court. Beal has dealt with multiple injuries throughout his two seasons with the Suns, but the trio never truly found a consistent rhythm and chemistry.
Now the Suns are moving forward, as of right now, with Booker and Beal – and without Durant.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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