2025-26 Season News & Discussion

[Fifii]

Calm down guys. I know that is better than should be, but the most game were playing at home. Good side is that, we manage our floor (except Atlanta that we should won), we waiting to road trip and then judge.

[lilfishi22]

https://frontofficesports.com/newsletter/suns-legal-dispute-escalates/

Suns Minority Owners Accuse Mat Ishbia of Fraud, Self-Dealing


Two Suns minority owners claim majority owner Mat Ishbia has committed fraud by using the team as his “personal piggy bank,” and allege he failed to fund a recent capital call on time. The Suns say it’s a “shameless shakedown dressed up as legal process.”

Monday’s explosive filing is the latest escalation in a legal feud that began this summer when Kisco WC Sports II and Kent Circle Investments filed a “books and records suit” against Suns Legacy Holdings LLC—which owns the Suns and Mercury—in the Delaware Court of Chancery. Kisco is led by Andrew Kohlberg, a former professional tennis player who now runs a senior living business and has been a limited partner in the Suns since 2004, while Kent Circle is led by Scott Seldin, who has an Arizona-based real estate business.

That August suit alleged mismanagement, conflicts of interest, and a lack of required transparency from Ishbia. Ishbia countersued last month. The minority owners dropped their suit a few days later, although their attorney said the reason was that they “succeeded” in obtaining certain information.

Now, in an answer to Ishbia’s suit, the minority owners claim Ishbia has engaged in fraud, and that he failed to meet the deadline to fund a June 2 capital call requesting additional money from investors, which is at the heart of the original lawsuit. In addition to fraud, the minority owners claim breaches of contract and fiduciary duty.

The Suns are adamant that the minority owners are upset because they tried, unsuccessfully, to get Ishbia to buy them out at a premium.

“This isn’t a lawsuit; it’s a shameless shakedown dressed up as legal process,” a Suns spokeswoman said in a statement to Front Office Sports.

The minority owners allege Ishbia missed the deadline he set for the June 2 capital call and tried to hide it from other owners. They say he eventually “partially” funded his share on June 9 by converting a prior loan into equity.

According to the filing, Ishbia did not disclose the missed funding because the company operating agreement would have required him to offer minority owners the opportunity to buy units he failed to fund—potentially diluting his own stake.

Michael Carlinsky of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, attorney for the minority owners, said in a statement that “we believe the evidence will show that Mr. Ishbia contrived a scheme to threaten our clients with massive dilution of their interests in the Suns if they failed to fund a capital call within ten days’ notice, while at the same time hiding his own failure to fund by the deadline.”

“We believe this scheme backfired and will result in a substantial reduction of Mr. Ishbia’s interest in the Suns,” Carlinsky added.

A spokesman for Ishbia tells FOS the minority owners’ framing isn’t accurate, saying his contribution was “timely,” and that their “whole argument comes down to a nonsensical rejection of money that he contributed through an appropriate debt to equity conversion.”

“There is a much smaller amount of money that was contributed by Mat’s family that they’re attempting to argue was late, but we intend to show that even that smaller portion of the fund was contributed in accordance with the contract, and documentary evidence will confirm this,” the spokesman says.

The filing also alleges multiple instances of self-dealing, including a loan to the team at above-market interest rates, and the sale of arena naming rights to his own company, United Wholesale Mortgage, without informing minority owners. The arena is now called the Mortgage Matchup Center, under a 10-year, nearly $115 million deal announced last month.

These and other examples are used to illustrate the claim that he has used the team as a “personal piggy bank.”

The Suns spokeswoman disputed that notion, saying he has “put hundreds of millions of his own dollars into the team and community.” The team points to examples like the introduction of a $2 value menu for both NBA and WNBA home games and a new local media-rights agreement to broadcast games for free for at least the next two seasons.

The team also pushed back on criticism of the naming rights deal, saying it is “one of the largest in the NBA and is no different than what other owners have done.”

The suit says the Suns have struggled both on and off the court under Ishbia’s ownership. The team hasn’t lived up to expectations in recent seasons, particularly after acquiring Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, both of whom are no longer with the team. This year, however, Phoenix is off to a hot start with an 11–6 record heading into Monday night’s matchup against the Rockets.

“Kohlberg and Seldin want to drag the organization backward, and they openly admit in this filing that investing in the team and its fans ‘makes no business sense,’” the Suns spokeswoman said.

The TLDR by chatgpt

Two minority Phoenix Suns owners (Kisco / Andy Kohlberg and Kent Circle / Scott Seldin) are suing majority owner Mat Ishbia.

They allege Ishbia mismanaged the team, withheld key financial information, and made related-party deals without proper disclosure.

They claim he missed a June 2 capital call deadline, then converted a loan into equity later to cover it — allegedly hiding this so he wouldn’t have to offer unfilled shares to them.

They’re suing for fraud, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty, seeking full access to the team’s financial records.

Specific accusations include:

Providing a loan to the Suns at above-market interest.

Selling arena naming rights to his own company without properly informing them.

Possible undisclosed side-deals related to a new Mercury practice facility.

Ishbia argues his contribution was legitimate (via debt-to-equity conversion) and accuses the minority owners of trying to force a highly favorable buyout.

He also filed a counter-suit, calling their lawsuit a tactic to pressure him into a premium payout.

[Ghost of Kleine]

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[lilfishi22]

Read on Twitter

It's crazy how after 2 entire seasons, under two pretty different coaches, we couldn't figure out what our identity was even with guys like Book, KD and Beal. After a month in the NBA under Ott, we already know what our identity is

[schnakenpopanz]

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2483740
@GoK time to apply

[KdoubleDees23]

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2483740
@GoK time to apply

I think GoK's % of accurate trades is 0%.

[schnakenpopanz]

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2483740
@GoK time to apply

I think GoK's % of accurate trades is 0%.

It is not about accurracy of trades. It is about scouting and from what I read here the user has done a good job in analyzing talent.

[NapoleonII]

Seems like a nothing burger - billionaires being billionaires.

I’ll try to read it more closely, but it seems like Ishbia made some decisions that weren’t solely motivated by squeezing profit out of every thing. That’s fine with me.

What Isbhby needs to do is smartly pay the lux tax when he needs to, and stay out of his own way when it comes to team construction.

[Saberestar]

OFFICIAL: The Suns have assigned Khaman Maluach to the Valley Suns of the NBA G League.

@GLeagueSuns host the Rip City Remix tonight at 7pm at Mullett Arena.

[Ghost of Kleine]

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2483740
@GoK time to apply

I think GoK's % of accurate trades is 0%.

It is not about accurracy of trades. It is about scouting and from what I read here the user has done a good job in analyzing talent.

Some people just need something to complain or argue about sometimes........lol. so no big deal I guess. As for the GM idea, like any other fan, I'd of course love that.

I'd probably be willing to do the job for a dramatically reduced income (due to admitted lack of formal experience) but moreover just for the experience and only request expenses be covered.

And to your point about scouting, I love that aspect the most and of course theoretical roster construction too. Overall I'd like to think I have a pretty good track record with identifying undervalued/ under the radar talent.

But trades are really hard to gauge as their randomly initiated predominantly out of personal opinion/ perspective of the owners with the formal logistics carried out (if possible) by the GM.

And we have a very impulsive and unpredictable owner obviously, so alot of the trades could originate out of left field in a fashion that no one saw coming. But overall, to make a correlate here, some only need look at some of the prospects I've mentioned and then our front office's follow up of drafting/ signing them accordingly....lol.

Vets ( via trade) -
J Green, Brooks, Mark Williams, Isiah livers, Colin Gillespie, evenJared Butler. All names I've mentioned in the past.

Draft prospects-
Ryan Dunn, Rasheer Fleming, Kobe Brea, Cam Johnson, Ty Jerome, Ayton. Not to Terrible all things considered with our unstoppable franchise over the last few years.

[Ghost of Kleine]

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[Calvin Klein]

Debbie Downer alert:

I just can't stop thinking about eventually making the playoffs and having to face Luka, Ayton, Reeves and Lebron on the **** Lakers. I think I'd rather not make it

[Stark]

Debbie Downer alert:

I just can't stop thinking about eventually making the playoffs and having to face Luka, Ayton, Reeves and Lebron on the **** Lakers. I think I'd rather not make it

Just imagine knocking them out of the playoffs though...

[Calvin Klein]

Debbie Downer alert:

I just can't stop thinking about eventually making the playoffs and having to face Luka, Ayton, Reeves and Lebron on the **** Lakers. I think I'd rather not make it

Just imagine knocking them out of the playoffs though...

what are the chances? 1 in a million?

[Fo-Real]

Debbie Downer alert:

I just can't stop thinking about eventually making the playoffs and having to face Luka, Ayton, Reeves and Lebron on the **** Lakers. I think I'd rather not make it

Just imagine knocking them out of the playoffs though...

The league won't let that happen.

[sunsbg]

That's a big 4 right there in Luka, Ayton, Reeves and Lebron. Just like Booker, Ayton, Beal, and Durant. Unstoppable. /s

[Fo-Real]

That's a big 4 right there in Luka, Ayton, Reeves and Lebron. Just like Booker, Ayton, Beal, and Durant. Unstoppable. /s

And the referees!! They just called a foul on Ryan Dunn ahead of the game on Dec 23rd.

[Saberestar]

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[KdoubleDees23]

Package Nick Richards and Booker !

Booker for Jaylen Brown

[Fo-Real]

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Can't see his services being considered a premium to any team. If no one is clamoring for him, then no one is going to send anything of value back. Nick is worth more to us than anyone else.