PHOENIX — Suns owner Mat Ishbia called the team’s effort this season embarrassing and difficult to watch on Thursday, vowing to change the culture and identity of a team that failed to make the postseason with the NBA’s most expensive roster.
In his first public comments since the end of the regular season, Ishbia took responsibility as the organization’s leader, saying the Suns need to be a team with grit, work ethic, grind and determination, qualities they did not display in posting the organization’s first losing season since the 2019-20 season.
“You can talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers,” said Ishbia, a former walk-on college basketball player who made his fortune in the mortgage-lending industry. “You kind of know what they mean when you talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Or even my old team, Michigan State basketball. You kind of know what you’re going to get when you talk about Michigan State basketball. What is Phoenix Suns basketball? That’s on me. That’s a change that’s coming, and it will be undeniable.”
Built around the star-powered trio of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, the Suns this season lacked toughness, particularly on defense. And with Phoenix above the second tax apron, a salary threshold that limits what types of trades and signings high-spending teams can make, they did not have many options to make changes at February’s trade deadline.
In addition to searching for its fourth coach in as many seasons, Ishbia said he would evaluate the front office. James Jones, the president of basketball operations and general manager, has been with the Suns since 2017, but his contract expires at the end of June, sources have told The Athletic. The Suns are expected to explore trade options for Durant, who was Ishbia’s first major acquisition when he assumed control in February of 2023, and build around Booker.
Ishbia, 45, pushed back on speculation that he is too involved in basketball operations, a narrative that formed shortly after his arrival. He said Jones, CEO Josh Bartelstein and assistant GM Matt Tellem bring him possibilities, and he adds input along with the head coach.
“I run a mortgage company most of the day, and I’m very active,” Ishbia said. But he added, “I’m accountable to setting the vision and the tone for the Phoenix Suns basketball organization, and I’ve not done a good enough job. … It will be very clear when a player’s being traded for, it’s like, ‘He fits that mold.’ I will be a part of that. That’s my job.”
Jones and Bartelstein also took questions in a news conference at the Suns’ north Phoenix practice facility. No one had much to say about former coach Mike Budenholzer, an Arizona native and two-time NBA Coach of the Year who was hired last May. Last year, Ishbia and the front office took two weeks following Phoenix’s elimination in the playoffs’ first round to evaluate the situation before firing then-coach Frank Vogel. This time, they didn’t wait 24 hours. Ishbia said the change didn’t require more evaluation. He added that Phoenix needs to get the next hire right. And the Suns need to make sure that the front office and coach are aligned.
“You’re going to see a lot more joy on the court,’’ Ishbia said. “You’re going to see people helping each other up when they get hit on the floor. … I can get to a very (high) level of detail what Phoenix Suns basketball is about, but our coach has to believe that stuff as well. It can’t be ‘I believe this, and the front office believes this.’ … We’re going to go through the right process, and we’re going to get it right, and it’s going to be a team effort to get it right.”
Ishbia said he understands the fan frustration. He felt it himself this season. Since he’s taken over, the Suns have won one playoff series. This season, they weren’t good enough to make the Play-In Tournament. But Ishbia didn’t back off the promise he made at his introductory press conference. “We will win championships — with an ‘s’ — here in Phoenix,” he said.
(Photo: Brett Davis / Imagn Images)