Suns Owner Mat Ishbia Offered Head Coaching Job to Wild Candidate

Getty

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – APRIL 25: Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia and Michigan State University head basketball coach Tom Izzo talk prior to game five of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs between the LA Clippers and the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center on April 25, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The Phoenix Suns have been playing head coaching musical chairs in the last few years. Since making the NBA Finals in 2021, the team has had multiple head coaches. Since the 2022-23 season, Phoenix has had four different head coaches.

Last summer, they made the decision to fire Mike Budenholzer and hire Jordan Ott. That decision seems to have worked well, as Ott has the Suns in the seventh spot in the Western Conference standings. They missed the playoffs entirely last season.

Ott almost didn’t get the job, however. In fact, owner Mat Ishbia offered the job to his former coach at Michigan State.

Suns Offered Head Coaching Job to Tom Izzo

While talking on The Dan Patrick Show, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo revealed that he was offered the head coaching job by Ishbia.

“I’ve had more than a couple job offers in the NBA, looked at one last year with Phoenix – my former player, Mat Ishbia. That was hard, that was a hard thing to turn down because number one, I kind of wanted to go with him…we talked seriously about it, let’s say that.”

Izzo previously accepted the job to be the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers several years ago before backing out. He has been at Michigan State for around three decades as the head coach. He is synonymous with college basketball. It’s surprising he thought about stepping away and heading to the NBA.

College head coaches who take a job in the NBA at that age do not have a good track record. John Beilein left Michigan to take a job with the Cavaliers and was fired midway through the year. Izzo would have had a steep learning curve in order to succeed at the professional level.

Phoenix has Played Well under Jordan Ott

Despite Ishbia first offering the job to Izzo, Ott has done a good job with what he has been given. After the team decided to trade Kevin Durant, he has actually gotten the team to play better than they did a year ago. The team has reinvented its identity this year.

Devin Booker is still the best player on the team, but Dillon Brooks has changed who the Suns are. Instead of being focused on offense, the team is more defensively oriented. Phoenix has the ninth-best defense in the league. Their perimeter defense is significantly better than it was last year.

The Suns are still trying to figure out what they have in Jalen Green, as he hasn’t played very many games this season. Yet, they are a going to be a tough out in the play-in. Would the team have played this well if Izzo was leading this same roster? It’s impossible to say.

It’s highly unlikely Izzo will make a move to the NBA. He clearly is upset with what is happening in college basketball, but the league usually doesn’t give someone his age a job as a first-time NBA head coach. Ishbia is the exception, because he played for Izzo.

Ryan Stano Ryan Stano covers the NBA and College Football for Heavy.com. He has been covering sports since 2017, covering the NFL, College Football, College Basketball, and the NBA. His work has been featured on Yahoo, Bleacher Report, FanSided, and Sports Illustrated. More about Ryan Stano