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Phoenix Suns team owner Mat Ishbia didn’t waste any time expressing his feelings about the 2024-25 season.
“Embarrassing,” Ishbia said to start the Suns' end-of-season news conference on April 17 at the team’s practice facility.
“Disappointing. Awful. I watch every game like all of you guys do. No one is proud of it. Nobody is happy with it, from me to the front office to the coaches to the players to the marketing executives to the security guards. Everyone is disappointed, embarrassed and it was a failure. We struggled. We didn’t do a good enough job.”
The Suns finished 36-46 in suffering their first losing season since 2019-20, which is the last time they failed to make the playoffs.
“There’s no running from that,” Ishbia continued. “Obviously, I’m very disappointed. I think all of you guys are. It wasn’t fun to watch our team lose and not compete at the level we all expected. I’m here for it. I’m here to be accountable just like our players, coaches and front office is, too. Disappointing is the right word. Embarrassing.”
Ishbia let it be known that the Suns are “going to make some changes,” which began with firing head coach Mike Budenholzer after one season.
“As the owner, my job is to make those changes,” Ishbia said.
Bradley Beal predicted changes were coming after this season’s final home game, which Phoenix won, 117-98, on April 11 over San Antonio.
“I believe in what we got in there,” Beal said. “Things happen. We didn't have a good year. We couldn't put it together like we wanted, but nobody hates the other man. Nobody dislikes anybody else. I love Phoenix. I love being here. Hopefully I can continue to be here, but I know Mat is probably going to make some changes, but I enjoyed this group.”
Ishbia said the biggest change will be establishing the team’s identity moving forward.
“I’ve been out in Phoenix the last two, 2½ years,” he said. “I love the community. It’s great. The fans are great. I want to put a team out there on the court that everyone is proud of and proud of is, has to have an identity, an identity that’s similar to Phoenix. A little bit of grit, determination, some work ethic, some grind, some joy. We just haven’t had that. We did it a different way and it didn’t work. I will do a better job as the owner of setting the tone on the vision.”
Ishbia said no one will have to ask who the Suns are next season because he plans to establish an identity and see it carried out through the front office, coaches, players and staff.
“That’s on me, that change is coming and it will be undeniable,” he said. “You will know the difference next year. There will be seasons in my next 40, 50 years with you guys that we lose more games than this, but we’ll feel much better about it because we’ll have an identity and we’ll play and we’ll compete and you’ll be like, they were fun to watch. The fans enjoyed it.”
Suns team owner James Jones and CEO Josh Bartelstein followed Ishbia at the news conference, shouldering some of the responsibility as Phoenix (36-46) started 8-1 with the NBA’s first $400-million team led by three max players in Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Beal only to finish 10 games under .500.
“I know (Ishbia) takes accountability, James and I take a ton of accountability as well,” Bartelstein said. “We’re partners in this and we were set to go build a team that would win and win at the highest level and compete and winning 36 games is not acceptable. So our job is to fix that.”
The Suns will now have their fourth head coach in as many seasons under Ishbia, who bought the Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for a record $4 billion during the 2022-23 season.
Related: Suns owner Mat Ishbia pays up to $85 million to fire 3 NBA coaches in 23 months
“We all know we had high expectations coming into the season,” Jones said. “We didn’t meet them and for various reasons, but ultimately getting back to our identity of playing defensive basketball, being great on both sides of the ball and more importantly, playing with an edge and playing with passion. It’s something we have to get back to.”
Ishbia made a major splash as team owner when trading Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks to Brooklyn for Durant shortly after acquiring the team in February 2023.
Two full seasons later, Ishbia said looking back on it, the deal didn’t lead to the success they envisioned when bringing in one of the greatest players of all time.
“Smart people can all think it makes sense, and looking back, it didn’t and it didn’t work,” Ishbia said.
Ishbia went into this season saying the Suns ‘love’ Durant, but entertained trade offers for Durant heading into the 2025 trade deadline. They appear on course to explore options to move the two-time NBA champion and back-to-back finals MVP.
“That hasn't changed,” said Jones about their love for 36-year-old Durant, who is heading into the final year of a four-year, $194-million deal in which he’s due $54.7 million, but is eligible for a two-year extension for $123.8 million.
“The fact that we aren't where we want to be from a winning perspective means that we have to look at everything, but a lot of changes that we'll be in the best interest of the team and we evaluate all of those things.”
Ishbia and Jones both said they could see at the beginning of the calendar year that the Suns weren’t playing as they envisioned going into the season. Phoenix was 15-17 after a Dec. 31 loss to Memphis, 117-112, during a four-game losing skid.
“We aren’t playing hard consistently,” Jones said. “We aren’t executing on offense. There’s too many flashes of greatness, but at the same time, too many lulls, and all the while, we’re not seeing any improvement.”
The Suns still had 52 games left to play, but this is where Ishbia may have made his biggest error by not really addressing what was happening at the time.
“The biggest mistake was not running and setting the tone and identity and kind of allow it to kind of going as it was going and not say, hey we're going to take the bull by the horns and say this is what we believe and we're going to go all in this way,” Ishbia said. “Because even if we don’t win a championship that way, we’re proud of it and we stand behind it. We’re good with and that, I didn’t do a good enough job with.”
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns owner says 'change is coming' after 'embarrassing' season
Continue reading...
“Embarrassing,” Ishbia said to start the Suns' end-of-season news conference on April 17 at the team’s practice facility.
“Disappointing. Awful. I watch every game like all of you guys do. No one is proud of it. Nobody is happy with it, from me to the front office to the coaches to the players to the marketing executives to the security guards. Everyone is disappointed, embarrassed and it was a failure. We struggled. We didn’t do a good enough job.”
The Suns finished 36-46 in suffering their first losing season since 2019-20, which is the last time they failed to make the playoffs.
“There’s no running from that,” Ishbia continued. “Obviously, I’m very disappointed. I think all of you guys are. It wasn’t fun to watch our team lose and not compete at the level we all expected. I’m here for it. I’m here to be accountable just like our players, coaches and front office is, too. Disappointing is the right word. Embarrassing.”
Ishbia let it be known that the Suns are “going to make some changes,” which began with firing head coach Mike Budenholzer after one season.
“As the owner, my job is to make those changes,” Ishbia said.
Bradley Beal predicted changes were coming after this season’s final home game, which Phoenix won, 117-98, on April 11 over San Antonio.
“I believe in what we got in there,” Beal said. “Things happen. We didn't have a good year. We couldn't put it together like we wanted, but nobody hates the other man. Nobody dislikes anybody else. I love Phoenix. I love being here. Hopefully I can continue to be here, but I know Mat is probably going to make some changes, but I enjoyed this group.”
Ishbia said the biggest change will be establishing the team’s identity moving forward.
“I’ve been out in Phoenix the last two, 2½ years,” he said. “I love the community. It’s great. The fans are great. I want to put a team out there on the court that everyone is proud of and proud of is, has to have an identity, an identity that’s similar to Phoenix. A little bit of grit, determination, some work ethic, some grind, some joy. We just haven’t had that. We did it a different way and it didn’t work. I will do a better job as the owner of setting the tone on the vision.”
Ishbia said no one will have to ask who the Suns are next season because he plans to establish an identity and see it carried out through the front office, coaches, players and staff.
“That’s on me, that change is coming and it will be undeniable,” he said. “You will know the difference next year. There will be seasons in my next 40, 50 years with you guys that we lose more games than this, but we’ll feel much better about it because we’ll have an identity and we’ll play and we’ll compete and you’ll be like, they were fun to watch. The fans enjoyed it.”
Suns team owner James Jones and CEO Josh Bartelstein followed Ishbia at the news conference, shouldering some of the responsibility as Phoenix (36-46) started 8-1 with the NBA’s first $400-million team led by three max players in Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Beal only to finish 10 games under .500.
“I know (Ishbia) takes accountability, James and I take a ton of accountability as well,” Bartelstein said. “We’re partners in this and we were set to go build a team that would win and win at the highest level and compete and winning 36 games is not acceptable. So our job is to fix that.”
The Suns will now have their fourth head coach in as many seasons under Ishbia, who bought the Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for a record $4 billion during the 2022-23 season.
Related: Suns owner Mat Ishbia pays up to $85 million to fire 3 NBA coaches in 23 months
“We all know we had high expectations coming into the season,” Jones said. “We didn’t meet them and for various reasons, but ultimately getting back to our identity of playing defensive basketball, being great on both sides of the ball and more importantly, playing with an edge and playing with passion. It’s something we have to get back to.”
Ishbia made a major splash as team owner when trading Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks to Brooklyn for Durant shortly after acquiring the team in February 2023.
Two full seasons later, Ishbia said looking back on it, the deal didn’t lead to the success they envisioned when bringing in one of the greatest players of all time.
“Smart people can all think it makes sense, and looking back, it didn’t and it didn’t work,” Ishbia said.
Ishbia went into this season saying the Suns ‘love’ Durant, but entertained trade offers for Durant heading into the 2025 trade deadline. They appear on course to explore options to move the two-time NBA champion and back-to-back finals MVP.
“That hasn't changed,” said Jones about their love for 36-year-old Durant, who is heading into the final year of a four-year, $194-million deal in which he’s due $54.7 million, but is eligible for a two-year extension for $123.8 million.
“The fact that we aren't where we want to be from a winning perspective means that we have to look at everything, but a lot of changes that we'll be in the best interest of the team and we evaluate all of those things.”
Ishbia and Jones both said they could see at the beginning of the calendar year that the Suns weren’t playing as they envisioned going into the season. Phoenix was 15-17 after a Dec. 31 loss to Memphis, 117-112, during a four-game losing skid.
“We aren’t playing hard consistently,” Jones said. “We aren’t executing on offense. There’s too many flashes of greatness, but at the same time, too many lulls, and all the while, we’re not seeing any improvement.”
The Suns still had 52 games left to play, but this is where Ishbia may have made his biggest error by not really addressing what was happening at the time.
“The biggest mistake was not running and setting the tone and identity and kind of allow it to kind of going as it was going and not say, hey we're going to take the bull by the horns and say this is what we believe and we're going to go all in this way,” Ishbia said. “Because even if we don’t win a championship that way, we’re proud of it and we stand behind it. We’re good with and that, I didn’t do a good enough job with.”
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns owner says 'change is coming' after 'embarrassing' season
Continue reading...
