Report: Suns retaining assistant coach via big-money offer

Kevin Young did not end up with the Phoenix Suns’ head-coaching job, but he appears to be getting the next best thing.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Saturday that Suns assistant coach Young will remain with the team on a new contract that will make him the NBA’s highest-paid assistant. Young will be working on the staff of newly-minted Phoenix head coach Frank Vogel.

The 41-year-old Young, whose official title is associate head coach of the Suns, was a finalist for the team’s head coaching job along with Vogel and former Philadelphia 76ers HC Doc Rivers. He had been an assistant in Phoenix under Monty Williams for the past three seasons.

At one point, it looked like Young was the frontrunner for the Suns head coaching job, as he had even gotten a major endorsement from one of the team’s top stars. But Phoenix elected to give the job to Vogel, a seasoned defensive virtuoso with 11 years of head-coaching experience and an NBA title under his belt, instead.

Still, keeping Young on staff (and giving him much more money to do so) is a great way to appease all parties involved.