The Phoenix Suns announced some changes to their coaching staff on Saturday after assistant Willie Green became the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans.
Assistant Kevin Young was promoted to associate head coach. Phoenix also added Bryan Gates, Jarrett Jack, and Steve Scalzi as assistant coaches.
Young served as an assistant coach in his first season with the Suns in 2020-21, helping the team win the Western Conference and advance to the NBA Finals. He joined the Suns following four seasons as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Before his time on the Sixers’ coaching staff, Young spent nine seasons as a coach in the NBA G League.
Gates joins the Suns following two seasons as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Before beginning his career as an NBA assistant coach, Gates spent three seasons as head coach of the NBA G League’s Idaho Stampede from 2006-2009
Jack joins the coaching ranks after a 13-year NBA career as a player from 2005-2018. He averaged 10.8 points and 4.6 assists over 867 career regular-season games with Portland, Indiana, Toronto, New Orleans, Golden State, Cleveland, Brooklyn, and New York. Jack played two seasons with Williams as his head coach in New Orleans, teaming with Chris Paul to make the playoffs in 2010-11. Most recently, Jack averaged 8.9 points in 15 appearances for the NBA G League Ignite during the 2021 NBA G League season
Scalzi joins the Suns following seven seasons on the coaching staff of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He served as a player development coach for the Thunder the past two seasons.
