The Suns are putting a piece of their future in the hands of Chris Jent.
Jent, 45, will be tabbed as the next head coach of the Bakersfield Jam, the Suns' D-League affiliate for which they run basketball operations with a mirror system.
Jent has spent 8 1/2 seasons on NBA staffs, including an 18-game stint as Orlando's interim head coach in 2005. He last served as Michael Malone's lead assistant in Sacramento for the 2013-14 season and the start of the 2014-15 season until Malone's firing.
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Jent was an Ohio State standout but was undrafted in 1992.