Jerry Colangelo believes Monty Williams and the Phoenix Suns are in the right place at the right time to unite and turn the franchise around.

“He’s the whole package,” the former Suns team owner (1987-2004) said Monday evening. “I’m very excited for the opportunity he has to coach in Phoenix and he’s going to do a great job.”

Williams will be Phoenix’s fifth coach in five seasons after the Suns suffered their second-worst record in franchise history at 19-63 in Igor Kokoskov’s one-and-done season as head coach.

Phoenix hasn’t made the playoffs since 2010 and has a young team led by Devin Booker and 7-footer Deandre Ayton, but Colangelo believes the Suns are moving in the right direction with Williams.

"There’s been a commitment made of five years,” Colangelo said about the five-year deal. “It starts with that. I think after all the starts and stops, all the adversity, the timing is right for the organization to do what they did. They’ve picked the right guy. There’s good, young talent, draft picks on the board. I just think the clouds have parted a little bit here and I think fans will really take to Monty Williams."

Williams, 47, will officially join the Suns after the Philadelphia 76ers' playoff run. The third-seeded 76ers play at No. 2 seed Toronto in Game 5 of Eastern Conference semifinals Tuesday with the best-of-7 series tied at two-games apiece.

“I’ve been blessed to coach alongside and play for some of the best coaches in the NBA, and consider it a privilege to once again be a head coach with an excellent organization like the Suns,” said Williams, who went 173-221 in five seasons in New Orleans, which included two playoff appearances (2011, 2015). “It is a tremendous opportunity with a talented group of players and a loyal fan base. I will be very excited to get to the Valley, connect with our team and get to work.”

Colangelo, 79, saw Williams put in work for USA Basketball from 2013 to 2016 after picking him to work as an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski.

"His character, what people thought about him preceded him," said Colangelo when explaining why he chose Williams as a part of a group decision along with Krzyzewski and national team director Sean Ford.

Williams was in the middle of his five seasons in New Orleans at the time.

"He was a young, up-and-coming guy," Colangelo continued. "Anyone you spoke to had nothing but positive things to say about Monty Williams. Monty seemed to be a very logical choice."

Team USA went 26-0 during that stretch, winning gold in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain and 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. Colangelo said Williams played a key role in the team’s tremendous success.

"We had meetings every day as a staff, he’s taking notes, asking questions,” Colangelo said. "He was just hungry to learn as much as he could and whatever you threw at him, he did it in spades."

Saying no one “outworks” Williams, Colangelo recalls Williams staying up as late as 3 a.m. watching video tape, putting together scouting reports — and never wavering.

"You really have to be thorough,” Colangelo said. "Monty was assigned different teams during the tournament play and would be up most of the night getting ready for the next meeting to be prepared, and he was."

Then, Williams would hit the practice court with energy and passion in coaching the game’s best players as the 2014 team featured Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Anthony Davis.

"He was working,” Colangelo said. "He was bumping. He was actually playing, pushing guys to do what needed to be done."

One of those guys was Davis, whom Williams coached in New Orleans.

"He was in the trenches with him," Colangelo said. “Going one-on-one with him and teaching him so much."

The 2016 USA Olympic team featured Irving, Kevin Durant, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony.

"The players all had great respect for Monty," Colangelo said. "You can’t demand respect. You earn it usually by how you show it and how you conduct yourself. You just saw it every day in the relationships, the conversation with players. He’s a communicator."

One of those players was Durant, who is "excited" Williams is an NBA head coach again.

"Phoenix, their whole organization, got a great leader to step in and kind of take it to the next level," Durant said.

Williams was an assistant in Oklahoma City during Durant’s final season there in 2015-16. That same season, he lost his wife of 20 years, Ingrid, who died from injuries she suffered in a car accident. She was 44.

"His coaching style is what is because of what he went through as a person and how he looks at life in general,” Durant said. “And it helps him as a leader and a teacher.”

Colangelo believes the adversity Williams has faced, like the heart condition he overcame to play at Notre Dame, and nine NBA seasons makes him someone Phoenix fans can relate to and support.

"I love the guy,” he said. “I have so much respect for him as a person, as a father, as a basketball guy.”

Colangelo bonded with Williams during the World Cup in Spain. He recalls the two taking a walk on a beautiful day, stopping at a park bench and talking for two hours about things outside of basketball.

He became a believer in Williams that day.

Years later, he truly believes the time is right for Williams and the Suns to come together.

“What Phoenix gets is a young man who is already established,” Colangelo said. “This is not a flyer. This is a guy who’s been around the track at a very young age who is ready to take a young team and really make some noise. That’s my hope for him and I think the stars are starting to align a little bit that way.”

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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Phoenix Suns coaches through the years