Willie Green recently joined the Phoenix Suns as an assistant under new head coach Monty Williams. Green has had a pretty smooth transition from being a long-time NBA player to becoming one of the most well-respected coaches around the Association.
In an interview with Gina Mizell of The Athletic, Green shared how he eventually got into the coaching gig, and admitted that his now-boss, Monty Williams, used to get on his nerves a lot back when he was a player with the Philadelphia 76ers.
When did you know you wanted to be a coach following your playing career?
That’s a good question. As you progress in the NBA playing and you get toward your latter years, you find yourself coaching anyway. You’re coaching some of the young guys on your team. I remember (a recently retired) Monty coaching me in Philly, getting on me. I couldn’t stand him, but he was right. Aaron McKie, Kevin Ollie, some of my teammates. I had that role later in my career, and that’s what really leads you to be passionate about coaching. Without those guys, I wouldn’t be me. So we can do the same things with others, and then they can go on and have great careers and be able to take care of their families well.
Green played 12 years in the NBA, most notably with the Sixers, where he spent the first seven years of his career. He bounced around to four other teams before eventually transitioning into an assistant coach following the end of his playing days.
Prior to his new gig with Phoenix, Green spent the past three seasons as part of the Golden State Warriors staff under Steve Kerr. Certainly, Green, along with Williams, can help bring a winning mentality into a young Suns squad that badly needs to find its identity.
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