RealGM

As someone who grew up a Suns fan, I have great appreciation and respect for the unwavering loyalty this community possesses for its first professional sports team. With that loyalty comes a fair expectation that the Suns compete at a high level on a regular basis, while representing our city with the utmost integrity. Candidly, we have not lived up to either of those expectations in the past two seasons.

One thing I have learned through both business successes and setbacks, is that victory is impossible without a culture of accountability, respect and trust. As a team woven into the city’s fabric, those principles must serve as a foundation for what our team, organization and brand stand for. All employees of our organization, including the players, will be held to those standards.

I have also learned that in order to achieve success, you must take risks along the way. In time, certain risks will ultimately look like mistakes. It didn’t take long into my tenure as an NBA owner to understand that basketball decisions are not easy to make. It is my responsibility to hire the right personnel to make those decisions, and also to provide the financial resources and supportive environment to facilitate the success of our team. Our basketball decisions rest with Ryan McDonough, who I have full confidence in. Not every decision will be the right one, but he will continue to build our team around the young, talented players acquired through the draft and opportunistically in free agency. The best team in the NBA right now is a perfect example of that model.

That said, we will likely miss the NBA Playoffs for a sixth straight season this April. Many of you are disappointed in that lack of success, and for good reason. I can assure you that no one is more disappointed than I am, nor does anyone accept more of the blame. It’s important you know that we will not rest until we are competing at the highest level once again. In fact, we have swung for the fences once in each of the last two free agency periods, with my full support. While we have come up short, we have not compromised our goal of building long-term success with our young talent. Often that process takes more time, yet the rewards are that much sweeter and more enduring.

The journey back to the top certainly won’t be easy. It will come with its victorious moments and its frustrating ones. But it will come, just as it did shortly after I acquired the team, where we rebuilt from a 29-win season in 2003/04. Please know, that above all else, you have my word that we will do things the right way, and you and your family will be proud to be Suns fans.

It’s why We Are PHX.​

Robert

MathiasPW wrote:Nice letter. Just don't really understand the purpose of it. Has no clear set of goals, time line, action plan or even a defined strategy ("we will develop youth, but we will still act hard on FA"...).

Sounds a bit too open and generic to me

we will likely miss the NBA Playoffs

Bogyo wrote:"One thing I have learned through both business successes and setbacks, is that victory is impossible without a culture of accountability, respect and TRUST."
Ahemmm... Mr Sarver, Mr McD, quite a few of your ex-players would like to have a word about that with you I believe...

jcsunsfan wrote:

Bogyo wrote:"One thing I have learned through both business successes and setbacks, is that victory is impossible without a culture of accountability, respect and TRUST."
Ahemmm... Mr Sarver, Mr McD, quite a few of your ex-players would like to have a word about that with you I believe...

Its interesting. According to the Morris bros accounts, Sarver worked hard to develop relationships with the players--taking personal time with them, palling around with them some. But the players assumed that since they had this special "bond" with the owner, they would not be traded, or at least would be given insider information if a trade was going down.

Sounds like a problem of trying too hard on Sarver's part and weird assumptions on the player's part.

The person that needs to be able to trust Sarver most is McD. This is a step. Rip away Amin. It takes no special skill to rip on a guy when he is down. Sarver and McD need to just do the right things and not worry about what the press, players, or even fans think. If they do the right things, the others will come around eventually.

Dr Manute wrote:I'm ok with the Suns not making the playoffs for a few more years, as long as we are developing a foundation for a team that can compete year after year. I think many of our problems can be traced to pressure Sarver has put on MCD to make the Suns a playoff team prematurely (Brandan Knight trade, IT signing, Chandler signing, etc). Have patience Sarver, I'm ok waiting. Get guys who fit our long term plan, players who can play defense, play team ball, and have heart. I would try to model the Spurs rather than Golden State - possession basketball and team defense over fast paced, 3 point chuckers. Team chemistry matters - it's not just analitics and stats.

sunsfever68 wrote:Is there anyone more annoying than Amin Elhassan. God I can't stand that guy


Hey amin no one cares or respects your opinions


You're irrelevant. Seriously .

sunsfever68 wrote:Is there anyone more annoying than Amin Elhassan. God I can't stand that guy


Hey amin no one cares or respects your opinions


You're irrelevant. Seriously .

Kerrsed wrote:To me, this is an admission to tanking. He wants fans to know, we wont be out of the playoffs, we suck and are rebuilding the correct way, so dont give up on the team and please continue to support the team by spending money on tickets and Suns merchandise.

Basically he is trying to make sure that the cash doesnt stop flowing.

ginobiliflops wrote:I really don't get the hate with Sarver here. Are fans still really pissed about things that happened 10 years ago? Yes, I know the history, please don't bring it up. Also, if someone mentions Tragic, you go on the ignore list for 90 days.

bwgood77 wrote:

ginobiliflops wrote:I really don't get the hate with Sarver here. Are fans still really pissed about things that happened 10 years ago? Yes, I know the history, please don't bring it up. Also, if someone mentions Tragic, you go on the ignore list for 90 days.

How about Markieff? Starting tonight with 8 pts, 10 boards and 3 assists at the half. He is playing the Sixers though.