Jordan Ott checked the first box. He made a positive first impression. He even captured the press conference on a game-winning shot.
Take the W, Suns fans. They haven’t given us many of them lately.
The big moment came when Ott addressed the green-and-white elephant in the room, when he was asked his opinion on all the Michigan State connections in the Suns’ revamped hierarchy.
His tone became noticeably different.
“So I’ll say it like this: I’ve earned the right to be here,” Ott said. “I’ve spent 20 years of working as hard as I possibly can to be here in this spot. I’ve been around great people, great coaches, great players that allowed me to grow, put me in tough spots to see if I can get better.
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“I know I’ve earned this opportunity. I’m going to work as hard as I can from here on out to prove I am here for the right reasons, and I’ve earned this opportunity. So that excites me. That excites me going forward.”
Ott sounded indignant, offended, defiant. It’s exactly how a competent coaching candidate should respond if he felt his hard-earned skills were being unfairly questioned.
He’s right. Take Michigan State off the resume, and you might think the Suns landed in the right place. They hired a candidate who painted a very clear and coherent picture of what it takes to win in the NBA. He correctly said, “it always starts with the work.” He said he’s going to demand full effort. He wants his team to play fast and to play aggressively on both ends of the floor, pointing to the combatants in the NBA Finals and noting how relentless, disruptive defense can be nitro fuel for the offense.
He said the players will respect him out of deference for a while, but the team will only grow when they know Ott can truly make them better. As he spoke, Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro, Royce O’Neale and Jalen Bridges all watched from the background. That’s a good sign.
“He described to me how we were going to play,” general manager Brian Gregory beamed. “That’s the buzzword – alignment – that we had been talking about.”
Yet Ott’s handling of the Spartan jokes and cronyism charges are also a reminder of the hurdles ahead. The Suns believe they can pull off a soft rebuild around Devin Booker because they believe they’ll get good value in a Kevin Durant trade. But it’s not easy for first-time head coaches to gain traction in the NBA. There’s a lot to handle and no training manual for adversity.
Ott faces long odds. The Suns are miles away from a championship, deemed largely irrelevant by most of the national media. And until he proves otherwise, Ott will also have to contend with assumptions and skepticism and stigma attached to the Spartyfying of the Suns.
But locally, Ott will eventually benefit from the angry mood on Planet Orange. Because the fan base is in the midst of crashing out, and when they return, they will be liberated from all expectations. It will be a great time to under-promise and over-deliver.
Reach Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.
Follow @danbickley
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