DeMarre Carroll worked with new Suns head coach Jordan Ott last season in Cleveland and in 2023-24 with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Phoenix Suns provide a peek into first-year head coach Jordan Ott's coaching staff, with DeMarre Carroll being listed as head coach of their summer league team.
Ott and Carroll were assistants together last season in Cleveland under 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson. The Suns open summer league play in Las Vegas on July 11 against the Washington Wizards.
In talking with league sources, Carroll is viewed as being "authentic" and of "high quality" with a tremendous feel for the game. Carroll played for eight NBA teams in 11 NBA seasons.
A late first-round pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Carroll averaged 8.9 points in his NBA career.
Carroll is considered a great communicator who is a straight shooter and is all about the process. A teacher of the game, Carroll understands offensive and defensive concepts and knows how to implement and enforce them.
Carroll and Ott also worked together as assistants with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023-24 under Darvin Ham. Carroll’s first job as an NBA assistant was in 2022-23 in Milwaukee under former Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer.
Ham, Ott, Carroll and Atkinson all worked under Mike Budenholzer, who coached Phoenix to a 36-win season last season and was fired after one season with the Suns.
A two-time NBA head coach of the year, Budenholzer coached the Bucks to an NBA championship in the 2020-21 season, beating the Suns in the finals.
Carroll played for Budenholzer in Atlanta for two seasons (2013-15). He averaged 12.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in his second season with the Hawks. Carroll shot 48.7% from the field overall, 39.5% from 3.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New Suns assistant DeMarre Carroll will head coach summer league team
Category: Basketball
