The Suns have hired Sixers assistant Kevin Young to join Monty Williams’ staff

Monty Williams is putting the finishing touches on his coaching staff and has now hired former 76ers assistant Kevin Young.

The two worked together during the 2018-19 season when Williams was the lead assistant under Brett Brown on a staff that also included Young. That will likely help Young get integrated into the Suns staff more efficiently during what is sure to be a bizarre and socially distant offseason.

It is another example of Williams using connections around the league from previous coaching gigs to build out his staff. Williams initially hired Mark Bryant and Darko Rajakovic based on his time working with them in Oklahoma City, and also brought in Willie Green, whom he coached when Green was still a player back in New Orleans nearly a decade ago.

Now, Williams is doing the same with Young, a young coach who seems to have taken on more responsibility in recent years in Philadelphia.

Young was hired in 2016 and coached the Sixers’ Summer League team back in 2018, which is similar to how Williams ran things with the Suns last year, letting an assistant lead the summer squad. Based on quotes from that summer, Young seems to employ similar philosophies to Williams’ on both sides of the ball.

That makes sense because are part of the long lineage of Gregg Popovich’s coaching tree. Young will understand the point-five offense Williams installed in Phoenix and will prioritize defense like Philadelphia did and like Williams has so far with the Suns.

The Suns had a hole on their bench once Rajakovic left for Memphis. They found someone who is young and seems ready for a bigger role, which is exactly the type of candidate Williams has targeted since taking over as Suns head coach in 2019.