Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert have a long-standing rivalry based on their mortgage businesses. Now Ishbia has struck a blow by hiring one of the Cavaliers assistant coaches as his new head coach.

Wednesday, the Suns chose Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott to be their new head coach, seven weeks after they fired Mike Budenholzer. Running the Suns might be a doomed job, as Ott becomes the fourth head coach in Phoenix since Ishbia took over in December 2022. However, Ott is a well-regarded assistant who spent two years as a Los Angeles Lakers assistant before rejoining Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson, who worked with Ott for four of his six seasons with the Brooklyn Nets.

Ironically, Ott got his start under Budenholzer as a video coordinator with the Atlanta Hawks. He also got a masters degree from Michigan State and worked as a video coordinator for head coach Tom Izzo, who also coached Ishbia when he played for the Spartans from 1999-2002. New Suns general manager Brian Gregory was an assistant coach for those Ishbia teams.

Beyond the Michigan State connection, Ishbia seemed focused on taking an assistant away from Gilbert's Cavaliers. The other finalist was Johnnie Bryant, who Cleveland hired as part of Atkinson's staff last summer, just like Ott.

Ishbia already removed Gilbert's company, Rocket Mortgage, as an arena sponsor in Phoenix. Gilbert was also the only NBA owner to abstain from the 29-0 vote approving him as the Suns new owner. Ishbia has publicly attacked Gilbert's companies and three years ago, demanded that mortgage brokers who worked with his United Wholesale Mortgage to not do business with Rocket.

Suns star Devin Booker signed off on Ott's hiring, and bringing in Michigan State alumni may be irresistible to Ishbia. But so is sticking it to Gilbert, both on and off the basketball court.