Jordan Ott, Quin Snyder walk down memory lane in front of Suns-Hawks

PHOENIX – The two rooms and the hallway were separated Phoenix Suns coach Jordan Ott and head coach of the Atlanta Hawks Quinn Snyder. However, their respect began long before Sunday’s game.

It started in Atlanta, where both were assistant coaches, studying film and how to break down certain coverages on offense and defense.

Fast forward, and Snyder ends up with the Utah Jazz, and Ott makes stops in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and then Cleveland. There, the two continued to develop respect and trust for each other.

Even like Snyder returned to the Hawkshis former assistant joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in the same position and helped build one of the best offenses in NBA history.

now, Ott is leading the Suns to a promising future. However, the latter is amazed what Snyder can do with the X’s and O’s.

“Always ready, always thinking,” Ott said ahead of Sunday’s game against Atlanta. “He was often so smart, so intelligent, so detail-oriented.”

“Obviously he was a head coach before. This was just a placeholder until he became a head coach again. You can feel that pretty quickly. He was only there a year before he moved on, moved to Utah. Just the mastermind in general.”

Quinn Snyder feels the same respect for Jordan Ott

About 15 minutes after Ott praised his colleague, Snyder echoed the sentiment, but provided even more detail. He mentioned the trip to Atlanta, the ongoing dialogue and respect for each other, and Otto’s lasting impression.

With all that said, the Hawks head coach is impressed, but not overly surprised to what a first-year coach does.

“This was someone who, even then, it was obvious that he had not only a passion for the game, but a great feel for the game, and watching him grow as a coach over the years and staying in touch with him, it’s not surprising that he’s in the position he’s in with this opportunity,” Snyder said before the game.

“And like you said, even at the beginning of the year, you can see the impact he’s made on the team. The guys are playing with confidence and aggressiveness, and it’s fun to see someone you respect and know for a long time get this opportunity as a head coach in the league, and to do the job he’s doing is no surprise to him, and obviously happy for him.”

The Suns and Hawks enter the year at 8-5, and Phoenix is ​​7th in offensive rating (119.6) and 10th in defensive rating (113.5). Sunday could be a teacher vs. student affair, but it will be interesting to see who comes out on top.