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Michigan State HC Tom Izzo reveals he was in talks with the Phoenix #Suns: "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... we talked seriously about it."
Duane Rankin: Jordan Ott when asked if he knew Suns and Tom Izzo had serious talks about head coach position before he was hired: "I'm so focused, we're in April, April 2026. We have six games left. All my focus is to help that locker room. How do we get into the playoffs. We've got another guy (Mark Williams) coming in tonight. So that is where my focus is. I think that's the best thing for our group. I'm excited to get our team closer together heading into this stretch." On Dillon Brooks finding rhythm: "He'll find it. He's been around the block. This isn't his first rodeo. He's super aware the time of the season. He wants to do well. We've got to have some grace with him. Out five weeks, coming back. Really hasn't played since the All-Star break, basically. We're just excited for him to be back and his edge and all that energy that he brings." #Suns
Marc Stein: Tom Izzo could have been the coach of the Phoenix Suns. Today Izzo confirmed on the @dpshow something that has circulated in NBA coaching circles for the past year: He turned down Suns owner Mat Ishbia last spring when offered the chance to jump to the NBA. The Suns hired another coach with Michigan State ties instead in Jordan Ott and have themselves a Coach of the Year candidate.
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Added Ishbia: “Jordan Ott’s the worker. He comes in early, stays late, watches more film (than others), spends time with the guys. It’s not dissimilar to what Tom Izzo used to do. I don’t know if it’s gonna win a championship. I don’t know if it’s gonna be as successful as it has been (early this season), but you know what I do know? I feel really good about how we’re doing things – and the way we’re doing them.” Ott, who raves about the prospect of having an owner and a general manager who truly know the game, has license to push his players in the kind of way that isn’t the NBA norm. There is, they all agree, a college feel to the shared strategy.
Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia will participate in All-Star weekend at the Ruffles Celebrity Game. The former Michigan State basketball walk-on — and champion under Tom Izzo — will represent the Suns.
Draymond Green: Pelle Larsson been in the mix a bit this week. Got into it with Booker, then got into it with Demar. My take on that is I’ve played a bunch of Europeans, they do little dirty stuff. People get mad at me and say ‘Draymond dirty I told yall draymond dirty.’ Draymond will f*ck you up. I don’t do dirty things I played for Tom Izzo if you did dirty things it didn’t work. I don’t do dirty things. There’s not a player in the NBA that can tell you Draymond is a dirty player. There’s a lot of Europeans that do dirty stuff on the basketball court. For D Book and Demar to get mad like that he’s (Pelle) is doing something we ain’t see. To his credit, he got a tech on D Book and Demar thrown out. If you going to keep doing that you gotta stay on that because people will start coming at you and that comes with a reputation. I don’t know Pelle Larsson to be that guy but if that’s who he’s going to be, commit and stay there because guys will start going at you like that.
“The interesting thing about Jase is for a guy who really carried a huge part of their offense and had to generate shots for himself and for others, [he made] next to no mistakes,” Weltman said. “The guy is a very easy ball-mover, he’s a quick decision-maker, he’s got a crafty way to finish around the rim — being lefty helps a little bit, probably — and he just really loves basketball. “You don’t play for Tom Izzo if you don’t rebound and defend, so he’s a fighter,” the Magic executive added. “All of those things rolled in [together] and that’s why we’re excited about him.”
Charlie Bell is joining the Phoenix Suns' G League team, the Valley Suns, as a personnel evaluator, according to his LinkedIn account. Bell was teammates with Phoenix Suns team owner Mat Ishbia when Michigan State won the 2000 NCAA men's national championship under Tom Izzo.
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DH: Seth Greenberg. He's always been a great, great advisor and counsel for me. People that I have really have a lot of respect for. Tom Izzo. I talked to him. He was very helpful. Billy Donovan has always been somebody I talked to a lot. Brad Stevens, Quin Snyder. Quin Snyder is a really smart guy who, I know that they (the Atlanta Hawks) really like Donovan (Clingan), so I was able to kind of talk to them about Donovan, but then also to pick his brain in large part.
Outside of your family, who else did you lean on most heavily for either seeking counsel or advice as you went through this process? Dan Hurley: Seth Greenberg. He's always been a great, great advisor and counsel for me. People that I have really have a lot of respect for. Tom Izzo. I talked to him. He was very helpful. Billy Donovan has always been somebody I talked to a lot. Brad Stevens, Quin Snyder. Quin Snyder is a really smart guy who, I know that they (the Atlanta Hawks) really like Donovan (Clingan), so I was able to kind of talk to them about Donovan, but then also to pick his brain in large part.
As for Charlotte wing Miles Bridges, the Phoenix Suns continue to be described by league personnel as the team most motivated to land the Michigan State product. And it should be noted that Bridges hails from the same Spartans program that Phoenix owner Mat Ishbia was a part of under legendary head coach Tom Izzo. Bridges would add a sturdy forward that Phoenix’s roster currently lacks and could allow the Suns to deploy more effective small-ball lineups with Kevin Durant at the five.
Tyus Jones was 13 years old when he received his first recruiting letter. He still remembers that day and how he felt as just a middle schooler preparing to play for his high school's varsity team. The letter, sent from the University of Southern California, was delivered to his high school coach, who passed it on to him. Jones brought it home and will never forget the excitement as he processed what it meant with his mom, Debbie, and younger brother, Tre, who would also go on to be an NBA player. From that moment on, Jones was wooed by every big school and legendary coach of the time. He developed into one of the most highly sought-after recruits in the country, luring everyone from Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) to Tom Izzo (Michigan State) and John Calipari (Kentucky) to Apple Valley, MN.