Phoenix Suns officially add Patrick Mutombo to coaching staff, move Randy Ayers to adviser
The Suns officially announced two moves to their coaching staff on Tuesday.
Patrick Mutombo was made its latest addition to the staff after the team initially confirmed the hire to The Republic on June 14.
The second move is by one of Phoenix's assistant coaches, Randy Ayers, who is transitioning to a coaching adviser role.
Ayers has been on the Suns coaching staff since June 2019.
"Randy has been instrumental to our success the past three seasons and he will continue to play an important role in his new position," Suns head coach Monty Williams said in a press release.
"This move will allow him to be closer to and spend more time with his family while remaining an invaluable member of our coaching staff. I’m grateful for everything Randy has contributed, on and off the court, since joining me on my first day as a head coach in New Orleans."
Mutombo is expected to become Suns bench coach, the same role he served for Raptors head coach Nick Nurse when they won the NBA title in 2019. He began coaching as a Raptors assistant coach during the 2016-17 season under former head coach and current Detroit Pistons head coach Dwayne Casey, who was fired by the team after the following season.
Then Mutombo became the Raptors 905 coach after Toronto won the franchise's first championship. He holds the G League's top record the past two consecutive seasons, totaling 36-11, and was the Coach of the Year runner-up for both those years.
In addition to his prior time with the Raptors, Mutombo spent several seasons as an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs' G League team Austin Spurs. Before he began his NBA assistant coach résumé, Mutombo started his coaching career as an assistant with his alma mater, Metropolitan State University of Denver, in 2011.
Mutombo was a standout player at Metro State, going 113-22 over his four seasons from 1999-2003 and winning two NCAA Division II National Championships with the Roadrunners in 2000 and 2002. He was inducted into Metro State’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011. He then played professionally in Italy, Brazil and Greece, before ending his playing career with the Bakersfield Jam.
That team was originally in the American Basketball Association before it moved from Bakersfield, Calif. to Prescott Valley, Ariz. in 2016 and became the Suns' G League team Northern Arizona Suns before they were sold to Detroit in 2021.
Have tips for us? Reach the reporter at dana.scott@azcentral.com or at 480-486-4721. Follow his Twitter @iam_DanaScott.
Support local journalism. Start your online subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns officially add Mutombo as assistant coach, Ayers to advisor role
