Valley Suns Announce Head Coach Paul Jesperson's Coaching Staff

PHOENIX - The Valley Suns, the NBA G League affiliate of the Phoenix Suns, today announced head coach Paul Jesperson’s coaching staff for the 2026-27 season,with Gerard Martin returning as anassistant coach, and Jimmy King and Ralik Wise named assistant coaches. Cedric Blossom, Rick Carter and Coleman Sparling have been named player development assistants.

Martin returns for his second season as an assistant coach. Prior to joining the Valley Suns, he served as an assistant coach and director of player development with the Perth Wildcats of Australia’s National Basketball League (2023-25) and three seasons as director of player development at California Baptist University (2020–2023). A native of Manly, Australia, he played five seasons at Grand Canyon University (2014–2019), where he was named to the All-WAC Defensive Team honors twice.

Wise joins the Valley Suns after serving as an assistant video coordinator with the Sacramento Kings last season (2025-26).  Prior to joining the Kings, he spent two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant video coordinator in 2023-24 and a player development coach in 2024-25. Wise also served two seasons as a video assistant with the Atlanta Hawks (2021-23) and one season as an assistant coach at Rosemont College (2019-20). A Philadelphia native, Malik played two seasons at Each Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania (2016-18).

King returns for his second season with the Valley Suns and first as an assistant coach. Prior to joining head coach Jesperson’s staff last season, he served as a player devleopment and video assistant with the Indiana Pacers. A naitve of Indianapolis, King was a standout at the University of Indianapolis, where he ranks second all-time in career assists (542).

Blossom returns for his second season as a player development assistant with the Valley Suns. He joined Jesperson’s staff ahead of the 2025-26 season after spending two seasons as a graduate assistant with the Penn State University men’s basketball team (2023-25), where he assisted with player development, scouting and film analysis. Prior to joining the coaching ranks, he played professionally overseas after a successful college career at Morgan State University (2012-16).

Sparling comes to Phoenix for his first season as a player development assistant with the Valley Suns after spending the last two seasons as a graduate assistant with the men’s basketball team at Texas Tech University. That position followed two seasons (2022-24) as the assistant director of player development with the men’s basketball team at the University of Wyoming. Sparling played five collegiate seasons, ending his career at the University of Alaska Fairbanks where he led the team to a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Carter steps into a new role as player development assistant after serving two seasons as a basketball ops assistant with the team. He initially came to Phoenix after more than 15 years of coaching experience at the college level, including notable stints at Michigan State University, Western Michigan University, the University of Missouri, Xavier University and DePaul University.