The Suns are hiring former NBA forward James Posey as an assistant coach, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
A native of Cleveland who also played college ball in Ohio at Xavier, the 47-year-old Posey will be joining Mike Budenholzer‘s new coaching staff in Phoenix.
According to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, who was first to report the Suns’ interest in Posey, Phoenix now has seven assistant coaches: David Fizdale, Vince Legarza, Mike Hopkins, Chad Forcier, Chaisson Allen, Brent Barry and Posey. The news of former NBA sharpshooter Barry joining the Suns was reported by Wojnarowski on Tuesday.
Posey played in the NBA from 1999-2011, winning titles in 2006 with the Heat and 2008 with the Celtics. Following his retirement, he joined the coaching staff of Cleveland’s G League team in Canton, then became an assistant on the Cavaliers’ staff from 2014-19. He won another championship with the Cavs in 2016.
Posey, who was an assistant coach in 2021/22 for the women’s basketball program at the University of Virginia, was an assistant with the Wizards for the past two seasons. He was let go in April when Washington overhauled its staff.
James Posey joining Suns after two seasons on Wizards coaching staff
Before he was a coach, however, Posey was a long-time NBA player. He spent 12 years in the NBA and played for seven different teams—the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, New Orleans Hornets, and Indiana Pacers.
The now-47-year-old won two championships when he was in the league: One with the Heat in 2006 and one with the Celtics in 2008.
Losing Posey could be a tough blow for the Wizards as they rebuild, as he would have been a nice mentor for their young core. He has lots of playing experience in the league and knows what it takes to win at the highest level.
Now, the Wizards will look to move forward with their current coaching staff under Brian Keefe, who they signed to be their full-time head coach after he took over on an interim basis when Wes Unseld Jr. was fired last year.
Washington will likely be one of the bottom-feeders in the Eastern Conference next season, but that’s okay. The 2025 NBA Draft is expected to be very strong, and they should be eyeing some of the top players.
Guys like Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey, and VJ Edgecomb would be great fits next to Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly, and the rest of Washington’s young core.
This year will be used to focus on player development, and after how poorly Sarr played in Summer League, the Wizards will undoubtedly want to focus on helping him find a rhythm and his place in the NBA.
Meanwhile, the Wizards will also have to be constantly scouring the trade market, searching for potential deals for guys like Kyle Kuzma and Malcolm Brogdon.