While it remains unclear which head coaching candidates will advance to the final round of the interview process for the Suns, Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link) says there are “rumbles in coaching circles” that Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney and Heat assistant Chris Quinn made strong impressions during the early stages of Phoenix’s search.
[RELATED: Suns Ready To Move On To Next Round In Coaching Search]
As Stein notes, it’s also worth keeping an eye on the Michigan State alums in the candidate pool, since Suns owner Mat Ishbia values ties to his alma mater, as evidenced by the fact that he named fellow Spartan Brian Gregory the team’s new general manager earlier this spring. Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott and Nets assistant Steve Hetzel both attended Michigan State, according to Stein, who singles out Ott as a name to monitor.
The expectation is that the Suns will narrow their pool of candidates to about three finalists, Stein reports.
Here are a few more items of interest from Stein’s latest Substack article:
- As the Bucks try to convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to continue his career in Milwaukee, one factor they’re emphasizing is the ability to continue competing in a weakened Eastern Conference, Stein writes. Although Milwaukee has been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for three consecutive years, the path to the NBA Finals still looks much clearer in the East than in the West, especially given the injury-related uncertainties surrounding would-be contenders like Boston and Philadelphia, Stein adds.
- The Bucks also hope that Doc Rivers‘ ongoing presence helps strengthen their case to Antetokounmpo, who is believed to have a “strong working relationship” with the veteran coach, Stein writes.
- Stein confirms prior reporting from his Stein Line colleague Jake Fischer, writing that the Sixers want to add a “dynamic young talent” to their roster and therefore won’t be inclined to trade the No. 3 overall pick if it would mean trading out of the draft or moving down more than a few spots in the lottery.
- In case you missed it, Stein also identified a few veteran point guards who might be targets for the Mavericks this summer. We have the full story on that here.