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Bob Myers couldn’t believe what he was watching.
The Phoenix Suns trailed the Los Angeles Lakers, 54-37, at the half on March 16 at Crypto.com Arena, which is within walking distance of ESPN’s L.A. studio.
“Do you want to play? Do you want to compete?” said Myers about the Suns, during ESPN’s halftime show as an NBA analyst for the network.
The Suns lost, 107-96.
Myers, 50, knows what competing at a championship level looks like. The Golden State Warriors won four NBA titles (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022) with him as general manager.
Could he be the one to fix the Phoenix Suns?
Sources informed The Arizona Republic earlier this week the Suns will likely look to add someone to the front office. They currently have James Jones working a general manager and team president and CEO Josh Bartelstein.
The two have collaborated with team owner Mat Ishbia on basketball personnel decisions, but sources also informed The Republic that Ishbia has been “pushing hard” to get Myers.
NBA Insider Marc Stein reported Thursday, April 23, Phoenix’s interest in Myers as well.
“You’d struggle to find many league observers who like their chances,” Stein wrote. “Ishbia is said to have maintained a longstanding interest in trying to convince Myers to return to the role in which he presided over four Warriors championships.”
Sources also informed The Republic that Myers enjoys spending time with his family. Along with working for ESPN, Myers also is a consultant for the NFL’s Washington Commanders.
Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst is another name to consider as he’s from Sandusky, Michigan. Ishbia is from Birmingham, Michigan, near Detroit.
The billionaire Ishbia is CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, which is located in Pontiac.
The Detroit Pistons were denied permission to talk to Horst last year for president of basketball operations position. Horst, 42, had previously worked for the Pistons as manager of basketball operations before becoming Milwaukee’s general manager in 2017.
The Bucks won the 2020-21 NBA championship, beating Phoenix in the 2021 finals in six games.
The Suns have regressed since Ishbia became team owner after buying the team and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for a record $4 billion during the 2022-23 season.
They lost in the second round to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets that season, were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round last season and didn’t make the playoffs this season.
Phoenix will have its fourth coach in four seasons as Ishbia fired Monty Williams in 2023, Frank Vogel in 2024 and Mike Budenholzer this year after a 36-win season.
The Suns last had a losing season and missed the playoffs in 2019-20.
Days after parting ways with Budenholzer, Ishbia said during last week’s end-of-season news conference the Suns would make changes. Sources informed The Republic the Suns would make front office decisions before hiring a head coach, a timeline that matches Ishbia’s comments.
“We’ve got to set it up front first with the leadership and that starts with me and we will do that,” Ishbia said. “Then we will get the right front office structure with scouts and what to look for in the draft and then we’re going to find the right coach and it will be a process. You’re not going to see a next coach hired in a week or two.”
If the Suns were to somehow land Myers, or someone else, there’d likely be structure shifts in their front office.
Here's one potential one: The new hire takes over basketball personnel decisions, Jones assists the new hire and Bartelstein focuses solely on the business side.
Here's a second one: The new hire and Jones share basketball personnel decisions with Bartelstein in a secondary role along with handling business decisions.
Jones’ contract extension is set to expire later this summer.
The Suns enter an offseason with signs pointing to them looking to trade Kevin Durant, who Ishbia landed in a blockbuster move right before the 2023 trade deadline shortly after his introductory press conference as team owner.
Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Warriors in 2017 with Myers as general manager and won back-to-back NBA championships and finals MVPs. Golden State reached the finals in each of Durant's three seasons there.
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: Mat Ishbia has been 'pushing hard' to land Bob Myers, sources say
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The Phoenix Suns trailed the Los Angeles Lakers, 54-37, at the half on March 16 at Crypto.com Arena, which is within walking distance of ESPN’s L.A. studio.
“Do you want to play? Do you want to compete?” said Myers about the Suns, during ESPN’s halftime show as an NBA analyst for the network.
The Suns lost, 107-96.
Myers, 50, knows what competing at a championship level looks like. The Golden State Warriors won four NBA titles (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022) with him as general manager.
Could he be the one to fix the Phoenix Suns?
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Sources informed The Arizona Republic earlier this week the Suns will likely look to add someone to the front office. They currently have James Jones working a general manager and team president and CEO Josh Bartelstein.
The two have collaborated with team owner Mat Ishbia on basketball personnel decisions, but sources also informed The Republic that Ishbia has been “pushing hard” to get Myers.
NBA Insider Marc Stein reported Thursday, April 23, Phoenix’s interest in Myers as well.
“You’d struggle to find many league observers who like their chances,” Stein wrote. “Ishbia is said to have maintained a longstanding interest in trying to convince Myers to return to the role in which he presided over four Warriors championships.”
Sources also informed The Republic that Myers enjoys spending time with his family. Along with working for ESPN, Myers also is a consultant for the NFL’s Washington Commanders.
You must be registered for see images attach
Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst is another name to consider as he’s from Sandusky, Michigan. Ishbia is from Birmingham, Michigan, near Detroit.
The billionaire Ishbia is CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, which is located in Pontiac.
The Detroit Pistons were denied permission to talk to Horst last year for president of basketball operations position. Horst, 42, had previously worked for the Pistons as manager of basketball operations before becoming Milwaukee’s general manager in 2017.
The Bucks won the 2020-21 NBA championship, beating Phoenix in the 2021 finals in six games.
The Suns have regressed since Ishbia became team owner after buying the team and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for a record $4 billion during the 2022-23 season.
You must be registered for see images
They lost in the second round to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets that season, were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round last season and didn’t make the playoffs this season.
Phoenix will have its fourth coach in four seasons as Ishbia fired Monty Williams in 2023, Frank Vogel in 2024 and Mike Budenholzer this year after a 36-win season.
The Suns last had a losing season and missed the playoffs in 2019-20.
Days after parting ways with Budenholzer, Ishbia said during last week’s end-of-season news conference the Suns would make changes. Sources informed The Republic the Suns would make front office decisions before hiring a head coach, a timeline that matches Ishbia’s comments.
“We’ve got to set it up front first with the leadership and that starts with me and we will do that,” Ishbia said. “Then we will get the right front office structure with scouts and what to look for in the draft and then we’re going to find the right coach and it will be a process. You’re not going to see a next coach hired in a week or two.”
You must be registered for see images attach
If the Suns were to somehow land Myers, or someone else, there’d likely be structure shifts in their front office.
Here's one potential one: The new hire takes over basketball personnel decisions, Jones assists the new hire and Bartelstein focuses solely on the business side.
Here's a second one: The new hire and Jones share basketball personnel decisions with Bartelstein in a secondary role along with handling business decisions.
Jones’ contract extension is set to expire later this summer.
The Suns enter an offseason with signs pointing to them looking to trade Kevin Durant, who Ishbia landed in a blockbuster move right before the 2023 trade deadline shortly after his introductory press conference as team owner.
Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Warriors in 2017 with Myers as general manager and won back-to-back NBA championships and finals MVPs. Golden State reached the finals in each of Durant's three seasons there.
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: Mat Ishbia has been 'pushing hard' to land Bob Myers, sources say
Continue reading...
