Arizona graduate Jesse Mermuys returns to home state, joins Phoenix Suns coaching staff

LAS VEGAS – New Phoenix Suns head coach Jordan Ott continues to build his coaching staff with the addition of Orlando Magic assistant Jesse Mermuys, league sources confirm to The Arizona Republic.

The University of Arizona graduate Mermuys spent the last four seasons with the Magic working with Jamahl Mosley. He was at Phoenix's morning shootaround Friday, July 12, as the Suns open NBA Summer League action against the Washington Wizards at Thomas & Mack Center.

New Phoenix Suns head coach Jordan Ott and general manager Brian Gregory (right) during a news conference at Verizon 5G Performance Center in Phoenix on June 10, 2025.

Orlando reached the playoffs the past two seasons with Mermuys on staff. League sources describe Mermuys as being a proven coach with extensive background in player development.

Mermuys also filled in as head coach for the Magic during the 2021-22 season as Mosley and then assistant Nate Tibbetts were under health and safety protocols amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Tibbetts is now head coach of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.

Mermuys will return to his home state of Arizona. A Tucson native, Mermuys began his coaching career at his alma mater, Salpointe Catholic High. The 1998 graduate was the head freshman and varsity assistant coach from 2001-2003.

He then served as an assistant at Pima Community College from 2003-04. From there, Mermuys worked as an assistant at Southern Utah (2005-06) and then became video coordinator at New Mexico State in August 2006.

A month later, Mermuys returned to Arizona to work as director of basketball operations. He stayed there until 2008 when before starting his NBA coaching career in Denver.

Ott’s coaching staff also includes DeMarre Carroll, Chaisson Allen and Brian Randle.

Carroll is serving as head coach of the Suns summer league team that begins play Friday, July 11, against the Washington Wizards at Thomas & Mack Center.

“When you're on staffs, you know when you're on a really good staff," Ott said Tuesday, July 8, at the team's practice facility. "My last handful of years, I was blessed to be on really, really good staffs. We all got along. No egos. Everyone tried to help each other and then, it's a long season. You want to appreciate and like who you're with on your coaching staff. I've tried to be really diligent in that here.”

Ott will be Phoenix’s fourth head coach in four seasons.

“I know we're building something unique here," Ott continued. "I want those guys around me that I can lean on because I don't know what this is exactly going to be. I don't know all these steps in it. Guys who have been in different programs and even myself. So I've tried to broaden my scope a little bit, but also the piece of ingraining yourself with the guys and how we're going to build this environment, have a feel for what exactly that vibe and environment should feel like on a day-to-day basis is really important.”

Ott concluded by saying, “I think you'll see us on the court more. You're going to see some coaches out there building sweat equity with our players through player development, through practice. We are all in this together. Knowing that on the front end, I've taken my time to try to build this thing out right.”

The Republic reported the addition of Randle and the retention of Allen earlier this week.

Randle coached three seasons (2020-2023) in Phoenix under Monty Williams. He followed Williams to Detroit for one season and spent last season as an assistant with the Wizards under Brian Keefe.

Allen served as an assistant under Mike Budenholzer, who was fired after one season in which the Suns went 36-46 in 2024-25. Allen was an assistant for the G League’s Long Island Nets in 2020-21 when Ott worked as an assistant in Brooklyn under Steve Nash.

Mermuys spent four seasons (2008-12) with the Nuggets under George Karl. He then worked as an assistant in Houston (2012-13) and Toronto (2013-16) before becoming head coach of the G League’s Raptors 905 (2015-16).

Mermuys returned to the NBA as an assistant with Los Angeles Lakers to work for fellow University of Arizona alum Luke Walton from 2016-19. He followed that with two seasons in Sacramento (2019-21) before landing in Orlando.

Back in 2019, Mermuys became one of the first NBA assistant coaches selected as a USA Basketball Junior National Team minicamp court coach, working with the Men’s Junior National Team at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado.

In August 2024, Mermuys participated in Basketball Without Borders in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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.