KD to the Suns

[Ghost of Kleine]

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[Ghost of Kleine]

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Any interest in bringing back this fan favorite for 3rd guard rotation and additional insurance? Would be so cool if things came full circle and he returned home to finish his career winning a championship with us!

Will always be a fan of Dragic but I really don't know how much he has left in the tank. He was actually solid in the playoffs for the Nets last season and was the #3 scorer in 2 of their 4 games but I feel like Love might have more left in the tank than he does.

I'm all for the idea of bringing him back, winning a title and sailing off into the sunset with the team he was drafted by but we have 1 spot left and I don't want to sign someone for nostalgia reasons

I hear ya on Love for additional size, rebounding potential floor spacing and championship vet experience likely offering more than Dragic in a simplified role. But my thinking on this is expanded to why not just add both? Maybe look to cut/waive Saban and keep Ish on his 2 way or whatever and then look to role with Dragic and Love off the bench for additional vet experience depth? Because honestly, how much would Dragic really need to have as a 3rd rotation guard (insurance option)?? I mean he really wouldn't even be called on much at all for anything beyond miniscule spot minutes as an additional ballhandler and passer.................... right? Because we already have plenty of offensive weapons. I look at these "end of bench" signings as the most simplified role additions to provide basic garbage minutes or "In case of injury break glass" depth options who might at best barely play if at all? Love would excel in his simplified role as a rebounder/ floor spacer and not be needed for much beyond that in his role either. But BOTH OF Love and Dragic could (at the very least) offer a calming vet presence to keep the bench focused and locked in as needed?

[lilfishi22]

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Any interest in bringing back this fan favorite for 3rd guard rotation and additional insurance? Would be so cool if things came full circle and he returned home to finish his career winning a championship with us!

Will always be a fan of Dragic but I really don't know how much he has left in the tank. He was actually solid in the playoffs for the Nets last season and was the #3 scorer in 2 of their 4 games but I feel like Love might have more left in the tank than he does.

I'm all for the idea of bringing him back, winning a title and sailing off into the sunset with the team he was drafted by but we have 1 spot left and I don't want to sign someone for nostalgia reasons

I hear ya on Love for additional size, rebounding potential floor spacing and championship vet experience likely offering more than Dragic in a simplified role. But my thinking on this is expanded to why not just add both? Maybe look to cut/waive Saban and keep Ish on his 2 way or whatever and then look to role with Dragic and Love off the bench for additional vet experience depth? Because honestly, how much would Dragic really need to have as a 3rd rotation guard (insurance option)?? I mean he really wouldn't even be called on much at all for anything beyond miniscule spot minutes as an additional ballhandler and passer.................... right? Because we already have plenty of offensive weapons. I look at these "end of bench" signings as the most simplified role additions to provide basic garbage minutes or "In case of injury break glass" depth options who might at best barely play if at all? Love would excel in his simplified role as a rebounder/ floor spacer and not be needed for much beyond that in his role either. But BOTH OF Love and Dragic could (at the very least) offer a calming vet presence to keep the bench focused and locked in as needed?

We don't have two roster spots. We only have one left after Ross signed. So it's either Dragic or Love (or some other guy). Also neither Lee nor Ish factor into this as neither are on an NBA contract. They are both on 2-ways which is a 16th/17th roster spot meaning they aren't technically on an NBA roster as neither guys can play in the playoffs unless we convert one of them into a full NBA contract.

[BobbieL]

Will always be a fan of Dragic but I really don't know how much he has left in the tank. He was actually solid in the playoffs for the Nets last season and was the #3 scorer in 2 of their 4 games but I feel like Love might have more left in the tank than he does.

I'm all for the idea of bringing him back, winning a title and sailing off into the sunset with the team he was drafted by but we have 1 spot left and I don't want to sign someone for nostalgia reasons

I hear ya on Love for additional size, rebounding potential floor spacing and championship vet experience likely offering more than Dragic in a simplified role. But my thinking on this is expanded to why not just add both? Maybe look to cut/waive Saban and keep Ish on his 2 way or whatever and then look to role with Dragic and Love off the bench for additional vet experience depth? Because honestly, how much would Dragic really need to have as a 3rd rotation guard (insurance option)?? I mean he really wouldn't even be called on much at all for anything beyond miniscule spot minutes as an additional ballhandler and passer.................... right? Because we already have plenty of offensive weapons. I look at these "end of bench" signings as the most simplified role additions to provide basic garbage minutes or "In case of injury break glass" depth options who might at best barely play if at all? Love would excel in his simplified role as a rebounder/ floor spacer and not be needed for much beyond that in his role either. But BOTH OF Love and Dragic could (at the very least) offer a calming vet presence to keep the bench focused and locked in as needed?

We don't have two roster spots. We only have one left after Ross signed. So it's either Dragic or Love (or some other guy). Also neither Lee nor Ish factor into this as neither are on an NBA contract. They are both on 2-ways which is a 16th/17th roster spot meaning they aren't technically on an NBA roster as neither guys can play in the playoffs unless we convert one of them into a full NBA contract.

I don’t see room for Dragic if Payne is healthy. Only so many guard minutes

I am still pulling for Ish to get the spot as he has been here all year and played big minutes when the team needed him.

Love would bring rebounding though.

[bwgood77]

Didn't want Dragic 2 years ago, last year, this year and won't want him next year when he is brought up again. I really liked Dragic when he played in Phx, but his time has past.

[lilfishi22]

I hear ya on Love for additional size, rebounding potential floor spacing and championship vet experience likely offering more than Dragic in a simplified role. But my thinking on this is expanded to why not just add both? Maybe look to cut/waive Saban and keep Ish on his 2 way or whatever and then look to role with Dragic and Love off the bench for additional vet experience depth? Because honestly, how much would Dragic really need to have as a 3rd rotation guard (insurance option)?? I mean he really wouldn't even be called on much at all for anything beyond miniscule spot minutes as an additional ballhandler and passer.................... right? Because we already have plenty of offensive weapons. I look at these "end of bench" signings as the most simplified role additions to provide basic garbage minutes or "In case of injury break glass" depth options who might at best barely play if at all? Love would excel in his simplified role as a rebounder/ floor spacer and not be needed for much beyond that in his role either. But BOTH OF Love and Dragic could (at the very least) offer a calming vet presence to keep the bench focused and locked in as needed?

We don't have two roster spots. We only have one left after Ross signed. So it's either Dragic or Love (or some other guy). Also neither Lee nor Ish factor into this as neither are on an NBA contract. They are both on 2-ways which is a 16th/17th roster spot meaning they aren't technically on an NBA roster as neither guys can play in the playoffs unless we convert one of them into a full NBA contract.

I don’t see room for Dragic if Payne is healthy. Only so many guard minutes

I am still pulling for Ish to get the spot as he has been here all year and played big minutes when the team needed him.

Love would bring rebounding though.

With Ish v Love, the way I see it is that you want a guy in there with experience, preferably championship experience. When we're talking about 3rd stringers on a contender, the common misconception is that it doesn't matter too much because they won't be expected to play much, especially when the rotation shrinks in the playoffs. But there's a ton of intangibles off the court that has real value but doesn't get recorded anywhere. Just having Love's championship experience, experience with KD on the Olympic team and having his general NBA experience is super valuable to that locker room. Not saying Ish doesn't bring anything to the locker room but if their on court production is going to be about equal if not leaning in favor of Love because of his rebounding and 3PT shooting then I think Love trumps Ish because of what he brings to the locker room and the experience.

As for Dragic vs Love, to me they are relatively close but I kinda trust Love's ability to still grab rebounds like a manic and he's shooting better than Dragic from range too.

[King4Day]

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The biggest thing I get from this is his mom saying he's happy. A happy KD means a lot to the potential of the team

[Ghost of Kleine]

Will always be a fan of Dragic but I really don't know how much he has left in the tank. He was actually solid in the playoffs for the Nets last season and was the #3 scorer in 2 of their 4 games but I feel like Love might have more left in the tank than he does.

I'm all for the idea of bringing him back, winning a title and sailing off into the sunset with the team he was drafted by but we have 1 spot left and I don't want to sign someone for nostalgia reasons

I hear ya on Love for additional size, rebounding potential floor spacing and championship vet experience likely offering more than Dragic in a simplified role. But my thinking on this is expanded to why not just add both? Maybe look to cut/waive Saban and keep Ish on his 2 way or whatever and then look to role with Dragic and Love off the bench for additional vet experience depth? Because honestly, how much would Dragic really need to have as a 3rd rotation guard (insurance option)?? I mean he really wouldn't even be called on much at all for anything beyond miniscule spot minutes as an additional ballhandler and passer.................... right? Because we already have plenty of offensive weapons. I look at these "end of bench" signings as the most simplified role additions to provide basic garbage minutes or "In case of injury break glass" depth options who might at best barely play if at all? Love would excel in his simplified role as a rebounder/ floor spacer and not be needed for much beyond that in his role either. But BOTH OF Love and Dragic could (at the very least) offer a calming vet presence to keep the bench focused and locked in as needed?

We don't have two roster spots. We only have one left after Ross signed. So it's either Dragic or Love (or some other guy). Also neither Lee nor Ish factor into this as neither are on an NBA contract. They are both on 2-ways which is a 16th/17th roster spot meaning they aren't technically on an NBA roster as neither guys can play in the playoffs unless we convert one of them into a full NBA contract.

So then Saben Lee ( as a two-way player) wouldn't be available to play in the postseason regardless, Have we seen enough from him to consider keeping him sitting on the bench as a two way player? Or should we be considering other young promising developmental options that might be available to integrate into our team? Ultimately it wouldn't matter though about the two-way status stipulations anyways, as what I referenced as an alternative so we could add both Dragic and Love or a Wall and Love or a D Rose and Love ( just my personal preference) if he becomes available is two not convert Ish's deal and to waive Landale in interest of signing Love or a Kaminsky or maybe another big man option?? Essentially the one remaining roster spot would become two available roster spots by losing Ish and Landale.

But these are the questions we'll need to answer as to whether or not a player like Saban has shown enough of what we're looking for to occupy one of our two way slots. And would we rather have Ish who is a great locker room guy but can't really guard a folding chair more than fouling and has been pretty disappointing in the minutes he's gotten the past few games. But the bigger concern in the postseason would be playing against much bigger, faster, more athletic nba big that teams will employ against us strategically. Because the Durant move has obviously put us in an "All in" scenario wherein we MUST MAXIMIZE all available roster positions towards a championship. So does what Ish occasionally brings offer that enough to warrant converting him or playing him over another vet guard insurance option for our backcourt?

Does what Landale brings here and there outweigh the skillset and experience/ poise that a K Love ( or another name) would bring to our title contention hopes? Is his rebounding, defense, floor spacing good/ reliable enough to count on in the postseason for us?

Does Saban have greater value given what he's shown than another young prospect option we could be developing an integrating to our team towards next season?? We have to maximize even the last two slots to their greatest potential contribution towards a championship since we mortgaged our future and all of our assets to win a championship. Are Ish and Landale really the answers to our weaknesses in that capacity?

Is Saban Lee the answer to maximizing future cost controlled development for us too? Tough decisions coming honestly?

[matt131]

That was…an interesting event. You could tell Kevin was excited by the love the fans showed but was trying to play it cool. The mic did not work for the first few minutes and the national reporters asked DUMB questions.

It was fun being there, but honestly, it could have been planned better. I did like KD’s answers to most all the questions. Felt a little strange to make this open to fans, but I think Ishbia wants to make the fan experience better. Maybe this is part of it. Just odd to be able to have fan reactions during questions and answers.

I watched it from Aussie-land so obviously didn't get the fan/crowd vibes but did you feel it was a bit overdone (adding fans, in the big stadium) for like a 20min event?

Didn’t feel like it was overdone. It was well organized from a crowd standpoint (only giving tickets to season ticket holders, calmly letting sections of fans in so people weren’t running or trampling, giving out shirts, etc.). I think it was a great way to show Kevin all the love from suns fans and everyone there seemed eager to see Kevin and hear what he had to say. So I think in that sense, it was not overdone and actually pretty cool to give fans live access.

What is awkward is having reporters ask their questions in front of live crowds. It seems like whoever thought of doing this had never seen this done before and thought it would be cool, but didn’t think of the downside. Probably better to have Kevin come out after a private press conference just to talk to the fans for 10 mins, since everyone still would have been happy with that.

What surprised me the most , was that there were a ton of KD fans who weren’t suns fans. I’m not sure we’ve ever had a player on the suns who has his own unique fan base.

Probably the most awkward feeling I got was the crowd started chanting “Wanda” which is the name of Kd’s mom, but they were chanting at the wrong woman…..oh boy that made me cringe so hard. And no one knew until afterward when Kd’s actual mom came out and hugged him. I almost died of cringe.

Overall it was fun and I think Durant did a good job answering questions and the crowd for the most part was into it and was excited and happy with the opportunity. I’m just glad they filled most of the available seats. That would have looked bad if not enough people showed up.

[Maze]

I don't get the "Can he win a title without Steph Curry" thing.I know the media likes to create cool lil narratives.Fans just pick up, and repeat...But I remember watching the Warriors playoff runs with KD.He was the best player on the team.Especially in the Finals.A bunch of fans try to say it was all a product of "Steph's gravity" leaving him open for 1 on 1 ISO opportunities, but the guy delivered.Made it look easy, honestly.I respect Steph's game, but personally, I think KD's the best basketball player in the NBA when healthy.I've felt that way since 2015.If the guy ever decided to go Mamba mentality, and play for stats, he'd average 40 points a game.I don't think that's an exaggeration when it comes to KD.Personally, I think he's the 2nd best perimeter oriented scoring threat of all time next to Michael Jordan.

[Paradise]

That was…an interesting event. You could tell Kevin was excited by the love the fans showed but was trying to play it cool. The mic did not work for the first few minutes and the national reporters asked DUMB questions.

It was fun being there, but honestly, it could have been planned better. I did like KD’s answers to most all the questions. Felt a little strange to make this open to fans, but I think Ishbia wants to make the fan experience better. Maybe this is part of it. Just odd to be able to have fan reactions during questions and answers.

I think it’s also more so James Jones. That was similar to the press conference for LeBron, Bosh joining Miami. Similar concept. The Nets did it introducing Deron Williams and Joe Johnson in 2012.

I think it helps elevate the franchise’s importance to the city.

[Paradise]

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Any interest in bringing back this fan favorite for 3rd guard rotation and additional insurance? Would be so cool if things came full circle and he returned home to finish his career winning a championship with us!

Will always be a fan of Dragic but I really don't know how much he has left in the tank. He was actually solid in the playoffs for the Nets last season and was the #3 scorer in 2 of their 4 games but I feel like Love might have more left in the tank than he does.

I'm all for the idea of bringing him back, winning a title and sailing off into the sunset with the team he was drafted by but we have 1 spot left and I don't want to sign someone for nostalgia reasons

He ironically called out KD, Kyrie and Nash for ISO ball which is the main reason he didn’t re-sign. I’m not sure he’s interested in playing with KD again which I think is a misconception. He’s a avoided Dallas for similar reasons,

As time has showed, our offense would be better under a real coach instead of a guy who depended on Mike D’antoni to run it. Dragic would be the perfect backup for this team tbh but I’m not sure how KD took his comments after leaving for the Bulls with Drummond.

[Ghost of Kleine]

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Any interest in bringing back this fan favorite for 3rd guard rotation and additional insurance? Would be so cool if things came full circle and he returned home to finish his career winning a championship with us!

Will always be a fan of Dragic but I really don't know how much he has left in the tank. He was actually solid in the playoffs for the Nets last season and was the #3 scorer in 2 of their 4 games but I feel like Love might have more left in the tank than he does.

I'm all for the idea of bringing him back, winning a title and sailing off into the sunset with the team he was drafted by but we have 1 spot left and I don't want to sign someone for nostalgia reasons

He ironically called out KD, Kyrie and Nash for ISO ball which is the main reason he didn’t re-sign. I’m not sure he’s interested in playing with KD again which I think is a misconception. He’s a avoided Dallas for similar reasons,

As time has showed, our offense would be better under a real coach instead of a guy who depended on Mike D’antoni to run it. Dragic would be the perfect backup for this team tbh but I’m not sure how KD took his comments after leaving for the Bulls with Drummond.

Darn it!
wasn't aware of this man, but thank you for sharing it! This definitely might affect things, unless both players can let things go in interest of winning a championship? Ultimately though, it wouldn't matter much if it's Dragic or another vet player like a Wall or a Westbrick or (preferably) a D rose or whomever really! I just think the suns really need another vet guard with experience in postseason situations for insurance purposes.

[sunsbg]

After watching parts of Nets Celtics series I see a lot of similarities between Nets and Suns rosters. Booker and Kyrie as scorers and creators next to KD, Bruce Brown and Okogie look quite similar, a traditional big in Drummond/Claxton vs Ayton. Short guards in Curry/CP3. Even the benches with microwave scorers like Mills/Richardson, lefties in Dragic and Payne. Griffin/Love if he's signed. Suns should have a clear advantage at C and PG spots. Tatum basically neutralized KD if not outplayed him in that series and KD's ISO game didn't look good enough. On the Suns he should get a lot better looks with DA's gravity, screening for him, and CP3 finding him in his spots for open shots. KD's transition should be smooth IMO though less than 30 games for building chemistry is not ideal.

[Saberestar]

KD was asked if he was worried about the bench not being enough in Phoenix and said “I don’t think people watch the Phoenix Suns enough to say that.”

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[Saberestar]

After watching parts of Nets Celtics series I see a lot of similarities between Nets and Suns rosters. Booker and Kyrie as scorers and creators next to KD, Bruce Brown and Okogie look quite similar, a traditional big in Drummond/Claxton vs Ayton. Short guards in Curry/CP3. Even the benches with microwave scorers like Mills/Richardson, lefties in Dragic and Payne. Griffin/Love if he's signed. Suns should have a clear advantage at C and PG spots. Tatum basically neutralized KD if not outplayed him in that series and KD's ISO game didn't look good enough. On the Suns he should get a lot better looks with DA's gravity, screening for him, and CP3 finding him in his spots for open shots. KD's transition should be smooth IMO though less than 30 games for building chemistry is not ideal.

I get some of the comparisons, specially I agree with you on Book and Kyrie but I can't get behind some of the other comps that you said in the post. Those teams are truly DIFFERENT.

CP3 is short and that's the only similarity that he has with Seth Curry. Nor even worth comparing them.

Ayton is better than Claxton. I know that Claxton has improved his game a lot and he is now a good two-way starting C , but Ayton's offense in on another level and that's gonna be huge in the playoffs.

Brown is a good post player and knows how to finish around the rim. Okogie is more a scoring threat going to the rim, put backs or catch&shots threes.

And the Suns are deeper than last year's Nets. We are basically a better and more rounded team at everything. From the HC to the last player on the roster.

[sunsbg]

After watching parts of Nets Celtics series I see a lot of similarities between Nets and Suns rosters. Booker and Kyrie as scorers and creators next to KD, Bruce Brown and Okogie look quite similar, a traditional big in Drummond/Claxton vs Ayton. Short guards in Curry/CP3. Even the benches with microwave scorers like Mills/Richardson, lefties in Dragic and Payne. Griffin/Love if he's signed. Suns should have a clear advantage at C and PG spots. Tatum basically neutralized KD if not outplayed him in that series and KD's ISO game didn't look good enough. On the Suns he should get a lot better looks with DA's gravity, screening for him, and CP3 finding him in his spots for open shots. KD's transition should be smooth IMO though less than 30 games for building chemistry is not ideal.

I get some of the comparisons, specially I agree with you on Book and Kyrie but I can't get behind some of the other comps that you said in the post. Those teams are truly DIFFERENT.

CP3 is short and that's the only similarity that he has with Seth Curry. Nor even worth comparing them.

Ayton is better than Claxton. I know that Claxton has improved his game a lot and he is now a good two-way starting C , but Ayton's offense in on another level and that's gonna be huge in the playoffs.

Brown is a good post player and knows how to finish around the rim. Okogie is more a scoring threat going to the rim, put backs or catch&shots threes.

And the Suns are deeper than last year's Nets. We are basically a better and more rounded team at everything. From the HC to the last player on the roster.

Yeah, I didn't mean only similarities in play style. I even included a player who's not on the team in Love.

As I said I expect KD to get better looks because of DA and CP3 being better than the Nets counterparts. I really hope CP3 will orchestrate the offense and average 10+ assists, rather than see this ISO heavy offense around KD in the Nets - Celtics series. People following him last season may give better idea why Tatum outplayed him in that series. Tatum is a good defender, but Durant did a lot better against Tucker's D in the previous playoffs.

[Paradise]

After watching parts of Nets Celtics series I see a lot of similarities between Nets and Suns rosters. Booker and Kyrie as scorers and creators next to KD, Bruce Brown and Okogie look quite similar, a traditional big in Drummond/Claxton vs Ayton. Short guards in Curry/CP3. Even the benches with microwave scorers like Mills/Richardson, lefties in Dragic and Payne. Griffin/Love if he's signed. Suns should have a clear advantage at C and PG spots. Tatum basically neutralized KD if not outplayed him in that series and KD's ISO game didn't look good enough. On the Suns he should get a lot better looks with DA's gravity, screening for him, and CP3 finding him in his spots for open shots. KD's transition should be smooth IMO though less than 30 games for building chemistry is not ideal.

I get some of the comparisons, specially I agree with you on Book and Kyrie but I can't get behind some of the other comps that you said in the post. Those teams are truly DIFFERENT.

CP3 is short and that's the only similarity that he has with Seth Curry. Nor even worth comparing them.

Ayton is better than Claxton. I know that Claxton has improved his game a lot and he is now a good two-way starting C , but Ayton's offense in on another level and that's gonna be huge in the playoffs.

Brown is a good post player and knows how to finish around the rim. Okogie is more a scoring threat going to the rim, put backs or catch&shots threes.

And the Suns are deeper than last year's Nets. We are basically a better and more rounded team at everything. From the HC to the last player on the roster.

Yeah, as a Nets fan I agree. This is his best lineup since 2021 with Kyrie, Harden, KD, Harris and Aldridge.

KD already played with a similar style big as Ayton with LaMarcus Aldridge. It worked but LaMarcus was simply too old to keep up with today’s bigs consistently. This Suns team will post the best efficiency in the league without a doubt.

KD, Kyrie, Harden scored 107 together with 25 assists in a game with the Celtics in game 5. I suspect it will be the norm at the first round mark.

[matt131]

Interesting interview with Ishbia post-Durant trade. He doubled down on this move not mortgaging our future...

Inside Mat Ishbia’s corner office at Footprint Center there are no mementos memorializing his basketball career. Not yet, anyway. No framed jersey, no autographed ball. It has been 21 years since Ishbia played his last game at Michigan State and longer since he concluded his playing career would end there. He spent a year as a student assistant on Tom Izzo’s staff before moving into the mortgage business, where he helped build United Wholesale Mortgage into a multibillion-dollar company. It was Izzo, says Ishbia, who steered him into business.

“He said, ‘Gosh, imagine if you take all these things you've learned here at basketball and apply it to business, maybe you could be something bigger than a head coach,’” Ishbia recalled in an interview last week. “As he said that to me, I remember thinking to myself, ‘What's bigger than being a head coach? That's pretty cool.’”

After two decades in business Ishbia is back in sports, officially taking over ownership of the NBA’s Suns and WNBA’s Mercury on Feb. 7. In his first week on the job Ishbia executed one of the biggest midseason trades in NBA history, acquiring Kevin Durant for the steep price of Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, four unprotected first-round picks and one pick swap. In an extended interview Ishbia opened up about the Durant deal, his path to ownership and his relationship with his longtime business rival turned NBA teammate Dan Gilbert.

SI: So when did the dream of playing die?

Ishbia: I still had that dream early in college. I was the third string point guard behind Mateen Cleaves and Charlie Bell. But I realized then that once I was seeing what level these guys were at that I was like, ‘I'm not going to make it in the NBA, but I'm going to try to be the best player I can to be at Michigan State.’ But I worked like I was still going to make it the whole time. And I always felt like the hardest working guy and the worst player on that team. I had to work extremely hard just to maintain the third-string point guard spot.

SI: The NBA’s not the only place to play pro. Did you think about trying to play in Europe?

Ishbia: When I realized I wasn't going to be good enough, my mind went to coaching. My first three years were three Final Fours and three Big Ten Championships. My fourth year I was the only senior. And halfway through the season Izzo was great. If you watch the film back then, he actually brought me down during games to sit next to him. Usually I’m at the end of the bench. He wanted me to translate to the freshman and the other guys, who all respected me internally as one of the leaders, what was going on. And so that really got me focused like, ‘I'm going to be a coach.’ I had an extra year of eligibility because I was technically red-shirted as a freshman so my fifth year I decided to be a student assistant. I spent a whole year with Izzo, with his assistant coaches, watching film, on the bench, suit, tie everything all day, every day and I loved it.

SI: So what changed?

Ishbia: My father was always the coach of my sports teams growing up. My dad was a lawyer and just kind of always grinding. And my mom was a teacher and they were always around. I realized one thing that I really valued was family and one day when I had kids I wanted to be able to coach their teams and be involved with them. Being a basketball coach, it's really hard because you're traveling or you're recruiting. So I thought about from a balance of life and what I really wanted in life that maybe business was better for me. So I decided to try it for one year. I said, ‘I'm going to do it for one year. If I don't like it, I'm going back to sports.’ And I fell in love with mortgages, which is crazy now.

SI: Hard to replace the rush of sports.

Ishbia: A little bit. My dad, he had a small mortgage company. I was the 12th person. I didn't even know what a mortgage was. And what I realized really quickly was that I could turn on my competitive juices there. If we want to get the business, it’s how do we get the business from that company? Oh, we’ve got to try this. Let's market it this way. I started to get extremely competitive. And luckily mortgages, you actually have to report your numbers. So I could see we're not even in the top 5,000. Well then it's ‘How do we get to the top 4,500?’ I got the competitive juice from that. You don't have the highs of, ‘We won the game.’ We also don’t have the lows that come with losing a game. You have a consistent competitiveness. And so the competition drove me to get up at 3:30 in the morning, get up at four, start working harder because we can go win this next account, we can go win this next opportunity. So it translated.

SI: So when does sports team ownership become a dream?

Ishbia: It was always a dream. But it never really became a goal or a realistic one until probably 2015, '16 when I was like, ‘Gosh, we're making good money here. I'm the owner of this. The CEO of this. We're doing well. Could I ever one day own a sports team?’ I was at that time 35. I didn't think at age 43 I could do it, I thought maybe at age 70 I could build up enough wealth. Because these teams are so expensive. So it became a goal probably around 35. It was a dream from the day I knew I wasn't going to play in the NBA but it became a realistic goal much later.

SI: What was the first team you tried to get in on?

Ishbia: Well, I'm from Detroit so I always thought about buying the Pistons. They had sold to Tom Gores in [2011] and I wished I could get in on that. Even just as a part-owner. Not the main owner or governor. I live in Detroit. But as I started to learn more and make enough income, I realized maybe I could buy a team. I started thinking about where. If it wasn't my hometown, where would I want to buy a team? Phoenix really is the place. This is in the top echelon, really the top target and I just didn't think it would come up for sale until recently.

SI: You bid on the Broncos last year. What did you learn from that experience?

Ishbia: The Broncos process, everyone kind of assumed the Walton family was going to get it. And they obviously did get it, but I wanted to learn about the process. I didn’t know if we're going to become the Denver Broncos owner. I didn’t think that was going to happen. However I did want to buy an NBA team. So I wanted to learn what the bidding process looked like so we could be prepared. And, again, I was preparing for something to come up maybe in the next five or 10 years. Because they don't come up for sale very often. And so when the Phoenix Suns, the crown jewel in my head, came up only four months, five months after I didn't get Denver, I thought to myself, ‘This was meant to be, because this is what we want anyways.’ And I'd learned enough in how that process went and how I wanted to do it differently if I really wanted to get the team.

SI: How engaged were you with NBA officials before you bid on the Suns?

Ishbia: I'd probably say in 2019 I started building relationships with other NBA and NFL owners. Just emailing them and get an email. And then when COVID hit, a Zoom. And then it was, ‘Can I come out to a game?’ [Nets owner] Joe Tsai was great. I know [Bucks owner] Marc Lasry as well. He's been nice. “They were so friendly with me. I'm asking questions and I really learned how NBA and NFL owners are so generous with their time and how they look at it as a partnership. Of course they want to win on the floor but they want to help each other on ticket sales and sponsorships and different things with technology to help the players. Everyone's on the same team. I got a chance to meet Adam Silver. I wanted to do all the little things to prepare for that opportunity so when I do get a chance, it's not like, ‘Who's this guy? I've never heard of him. I don't know who he is.’ They've kind of known me and known I've been around and had the dream of being an NBA owner.

SI: What kind of questions are you asking?

Ishbia: What would they do if they were in my position? If you wanted to buy a team, what would you be doing? And they'd be like, ‘Meet with other owners. Make sure Adam Silver knows who you are.’ I'd make sure I'd be reading about what other owners do. I'd ask them their advice if they were trying to get a team and then, ‘Hey, when you do get a team, what's the first thing you think about? What would you be doing?’ And the way I look at it is I could ask 10 different owners, I get 10 different answers. And my job is to take the best parts of each answer and then apply who I am to it. None of them said, ‘Trade for Kevin Durant your first day.’ It was not that. But there's things I took from everybody and then I'd take my view of things and apply it. That is what I'm trying to do in Phoenix with the Suns and Mercury.

SI: I watched your introductory press conference. You had a lot of energy. But there was obviously stuff going on behind the scenes with Durant that you knew about. What did you know at that point?

Ishbia: Well, like I said at the press conference, I loved our team. But I'm always trying to win and I'm trying to win now. It doesn't mean I'm going to sacrifice the future. We're going to make sure we do the right thing to win now and then again in the future to continue to win and be competitive. But we don't need to make a big splash. That's zero to do with getting Kevin Durant.

But with Kevin Durant, there was an opportunity. So what did I know? I knew that there was an opportunity and I knew I'd been working on it and I know [team president] James Jones had been working on it. I knew that we had this plan. You never know what's going to happen. But I knew we had a chance at that point. But I also knew that if we didn't do anything, I felt really good about what our other options were to continue to operate the team.

SI: The Nets and Suns talked Durant last summer. They couldn’t get a deal done. It sure seems like you were the reason it did.

Ishbia: Well, I don't know about all the talks from the summer. I just know my conversations with Joe Tsai and James's with Sean Marks. It was not months. It was days and hours to put the deal together. I'm obviously a different variable and obviously I had to understand the luxury tax and understand what that is. And that was about four or five seconds of the conversation, because that was not a discussion. We were going to do what it takes to win and be successful. And I believe in business money follows success, not the other way around. So I'm not focused on every dollar. We'll make money. I promise we'll make money. That was the mentality. And it was a team decision, as in me and James and Ryan [Resch] who works with James and my brother [Justin] was involved. We were all talking about it.

SI: It sounds like you being willing to pay the luxury tax penalties was a part of this getting done.

Ishbia: I think that’s part of it. The money part was not an issue. So we took that off the table right away. Then it was, ‘what's best for our team?’ Can Kevin make us a better team? Is Kevin going to help us compete for a championship now? What's Kevin Durant's contract? We've got three more years after this year, so we're not having someone for 25 games. We're having someone for three and a half years. So that was a big part of the conversation. And then understanding Devin Booker and Chris Paul and what Kevin Durant does to the floor with them and Deandre Ayton. And then our role players, how they fit in and understanding what we can get in the buyout market. Understanding all the pieces, like the first-round picks.

All these conversations, we had them for hours and hours and hours in a room talking about it and getting everyone's perspective. And James obviously is the leader of that and knows it better than I could ever know it. And so I give him a lot of the credit. The financial piece was five seconds. They know I'm ready. That doesn't bother me. Now let's talk about is this the right thing for the Phoenix Suns organization? And I think we quickly figured out that it was.

Ishbia signed off on one of the biggest midseason trades in NBA history just a week after taking over the Suns.

Rick Scuteri/USA TODAY Sports

SI: Was the decision to make the deal unanimous?

Ishbia: It was. This was the right decision for the team and for the business and for the players. It wasn't a tough decision. We really didn't want to give up some of the guys, because we love those guys. They were winners and we didn't want to give them up. But at the end of the day the right decision was, what do we do to maximize our team for today and for the next three to four years? This is going to be what the Phoenix Suns are about. The vision is not, ‘Let's win a championship.’ Of course we'd like to. But the vision is, ‘We're going to be the leading franchise in the NBA. How do we do that?’ We have to have a culture of winning. We have got to make sure the fans love it. We're doing great in the community. We've got to do great there. This is not about just winning this year. “We're going to win again in '27 and '29 and '31. We're going to try to win all the time. I'm not into the planning to win phase, I'm in the let's win today phase and let's win tomorrow phase. And you can't always do it, but you're going to try.

SI: How risky is this deal?

Ishbia: I think there is no risk. I don't look at it as a risk at all. I look at it as a vision and a decision. And you go with your decisions and you run with it. It doesn't mean everything's going to work out or that we’re going to win multiple championships and you know it was right. You have to play the games.

However I don't look at it like a risk at all. I know what the vision is. I'm going to own this team for 50 years, so like zero [risk]. I don't need to come in and win in the first year. But at the same time, there's nothing in my life that I don't want to win at. We're going to try to win everything we do. And so I don't look at it as risk at all. Everyone can say what they want to say. If something happened and we didn't win, it was still the right thing. You make the decision with the best available information you have at the time, you make the decision and then you run with it and you try to make it work.

SI: What kind of team owner do you see yourself being?

Ishbia: I think my job as an owner is to put great people in position with all the resources they need to make the right decisions and then support them, good or bad, with those decisions. I'm not watching film on the draft picks. James will recommend who he thinks and we'll talk about and he might understand my vision on how character really matters and leadership really matters and that I'm not willing to sacrifice that. So he'll know my vision of what matters to me and what I believe in as a human being and as a leader of an organization. But James will pick the best player. And that's his job. I'm not calling Monty Williams to ask him why we played someone. That's not my thing. I'll watch the game like a fan and cheer the team on. That's what my job is to do, is to be the biggest supporter, to give Monty Williams all the support he needs, to give James Jones all the support they need, to give the players all the support they need.

SI: You were approved for ownership by a 29–0 vote. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, your competition in the mortgage business, abstained. Your reaction?

Ishbia: I wasn’t surprised. I know who he is.

SI: Can you two co-exist?

Ishbia: Absolutely. I can co-exist with anybody as an owner. There's going to be different owners that I spend more time with and pick their brain more. If I saw Dan today, we'd shake hands and say hello. We're normal people. But we're not giving each other advice and being friendly in the business side. I have no negativity towards him. He's probably not one of the first owners I'll call for advice on ticket sales or sponsorships, but I'm friendly to everybody. But I'm fine talking with him. And we'll compete. We'll compete like we do in the mortgage business. I'm sure we'll end up competing at some point on the court.

[bwgood77]

Interesting interview with Ishbia post-Durant trade. He doubled down on this move not mortgaging our future...

Inside Mat Ishbia’s corner office at Footprint Center there are no mementos memorializing his basketball career. Not yet, anyway. No framed jersey, no autographed ball. It has been 21 years since Ishbia played his last game at Michigan State and longer since he concluded his playing career would end there. He spent a year as a student assistant on Tom Izzo’s staff before moving into the mortgage business, where he helped build United Wholesale Mortgage into a multibillion-dollar company. It was Izzo, says Ishbia, who steered him into business.

“He said, ‘Gosh, imagine if you take all these things you've learned here at basketball and apply it to business, maybe you could be something bigger than a head coach,’” Ishbia recalled in an interview last week. “As he said that to me, I remember thinking to myself, ‘What's bigger than being a head coach? That's pretty cool.’”

After two decades in business Ishbia is back in sports, officially taking over ownership of the NBA’s Suns and WNBA’s Mercury on Feb. 7. In his first week on the job Ishbia executed one of the biggest midseason trades in NBA history, acquiring Kevin Durant for the steep price of Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, four unprotected first-round picks and one pick swap. In an extended interview Ishbia opened up about the Durant deal, his path to ownership and his relationship with his longtime business rival turned NBA teammate Dan Gilbert.

SI: So when did the dream of playing die?

Ishbia: I still had that dream early in college. I was the third string point guard behind Mateen Cleaves and Charlie Bell. But I realized then that once I was seeing what level these guys were at that I was like, ‘I'm not going to make it in the NBA, but I'm going to try to be the best player I can to be at Michigan State.’ But I worked like I was still going to make it the whole time. And I always felt like the hardest working guy and the worst player on that team. I had to work extremely hard just to maintain the third-string point guard spot.

SI: The NBA’s not the only place to play pro. Did you think about trying to play in Europe?

Ishbia: When I realized I wasn't going to be good enough, my mind went to coaching. My first three years were three Final Fours and three Big Ten Championships. My fourth year I was the only senior. And halfway through the season Izzo was great. If you watch the film back then, he actually brought me down during games to sit next to him. Usually I’m at the end of the bench. He wanted me to translate to the freshman and the other guys, who all respected me internally as one of the leaders, what was going on. And so that really got me focused like, ‘I'm going to be a coach.’ I had an extra year of eligibility because I was technically red-shirted as a freshman so my fifth year I decided to be a student assistant. I spent a whole year with Izzo, with his assistant coaches, watching film, on the bench, suit, tie everything all day, every day and I loved it.

SI: So what changed?

Ishbia: My father was always the coach of my sports teams growing up. My dad was a lawyer and just kind of always grinding. And my mom was a teacher and they were always around. I realized one thing that I really valued was family and one day when I had kids I wanted to be able to coach their teams and be involved with them. Being a basketball coach, it's really hard because you're traveling or you're recruiting. So I thought about from a balance of life and what I really wanted in life that maybe business was better for me. So I decided to try it for one year. I said, ‘I'm going to do it for one year. If I don't like it, I'm going back to sports.’ And I fell in love with mortgages, which is crazy now.

SI: Hard to replace the rush of sports.

Ishbia: A little bit. My dad, he had a small mortgage company. I was the 12th person. I didn't even know what a mortgage was. And what I realized really quickly was that I could turn on my competitive juices there. If we want to get the business, it’s how do we get the business from that company? Oh, we’ve got to try this. Let's market it this way. I started to get extremely competitive. And luckily mortgages, you actually have to report your numbers. So I could see we're not even in the top 5,000. Well then it's ‘How do we get to the top 4,500?’ I got the competitive juice from that. You don't have the highs of, ‘We won the game.’ We also don’t have the lows that come with losing a game. You have a consistent competitiveness. And so the competition drove me to get up at 3:30 in the morning, get up at four, start working harder because we can go win this next account, we can go win this next opportunity. So it translated.

SI: So when does sports team ownership become a dream?

Ishbia: It was always a dream. But it never really became a goal or a realistic one until probably 2015, '16 when I was like, ‘Gosh, we're making good money here. I'm the owner of this. The CEO of this. We're doing well. Could I ever one day own a sports team?’ I was at that time 35. I didn't think at age 43 I could do it, I thought maybe at age 70 I could build up enough wealth. Because these teams are so expensive. So it became a goal probably around 35. It was a dream from the day I knew I wasn't going to play in the NBA but it became a realistic goal much later.

SI: What was the first team you tried to get in on?

Ishbia: Well, I'm from Detroit so I always thought about buying the Pistons. They had sold to Tom Gores in [2011] and I wished I could get in on that. Even just as a part-owner. Not the main owner or governor. I live in Detroit. But as I started to learn more and make enough income, I realized maybe I could buy a team. I started thinking about where. If it wasn't my hometown, where would I want to buy a team? Phoenix really is the place. This is in the top echelon, really the top target and I just didn't think it would come up for sale until recently.

SI: You bid on the Broncos last year. What did you learn from that experience?

Ishbia: The Broncos process, everyone kind of assumed the Walton family was going to get it. And they obviously did get it, but I wanted to learn about the process. I didn’t know if we're going to become the Denver Broncos owner. I didn’t think that was going to happen. However I did want to buy an NBA team. So I wanted to learn what the bidding process looked like so we could be prepared. And, again, I was preparing for something to come up maybe in the next five or 10 years. Because they don't come up for sale very often. And so when the Phoenix Suns, the crown jewel in my head, came up only four months, five months after I didn't get Denver, I thought to myself, ‘This was meant to be, because this is what we want anyways.’ And I'd learned enough in how that process went and how I wanted to do it differently if I really wanted to get the team.

SI: How engaged were you with NBA officials before you bid on the Suns?

Ishbia: I'd probably say in 2019 I started building relationships with other NBA and NFL owners. Just emailing them and get an email. And then when COVID hit, a Zoom. And then it was, ‘Can I come out to a game?’ [Nets owner] Joe Tsai was great. I know [Bucks owner] Marc Lasry as well. He's been nice. “They were so friendly with me. I'm asking questions and I really learned how NBA and NFL owners are so generous with their time and how they look at it as a partnership. Of course they want to win on the floor but they want to help each other on ticket sales and sponsorships and different things with technology to help the players. Everyone's on the same team. I got a chance to meet Adam Silver. I wanted to do all the little things to prepare for that opportunity so when I do get a chance, it's not like, ‘Who's this guy? I've never heard of him. I don't know who he is.’ They've kind of known me and known I've been around and had the dream of being an NBA owner.

SI: What kind of questions are you asking?

Ishbia: What would they do if they were in my position? If you wanted to buy a team, what would you be doing? And they'd be like, ‘Meet with other owners. Make sure Adam Silver knows who you are.’ I'd make sure I'd be reading about what other owners do. I'd ask them their advice if they were trying to get a team and then, ‘Hey, when you do get a team, what's the first thing you think about? What would you be doing?’ And the way I look at it is I could ask 10 different owners, I get 10 different answers. And my job is to take the best parts of each answer and then apply who I am to it. None of them said, ‘Trade for Kevin Durant your first day.’ It was not that. But there's things I took from everybody and then I'd take my view of things and apply it. That is what I'm trying to do in Phoenix with the Suns and Mercury.

SI: I watched your introductory press conference. You had a lot of energy. But there was obviously stuff going on behind the scenes with Durant that you knew about. What did you know at that point?

Ishbia: Well, like I said at the press conference, I loved our team. But I'm always trying to win and I'm trying to win now. It doesn't mean I'm going to sacrifice the future. We're going to make sure we do the right thing to win now and then again in the future to continue to win and be competitive. But we don't need to make a big splash. That's zero to do with getting Kevin Durant.

But with Kevin Durant, there was an opportunity. So what did I know? I knew that there was an opportunity and I knew I'd been working on it and I know [team president] James Jones had been working on it. I knew that we had this plan. You never know what's going to happen. But I knew we had a chance at that point. But I also knew that if we didn't do anything, I felt really good about what our other options were to continue to operate the team.

SI: The Nets and Suns talked Durant last summer. They couldn’t get a deal done. It sure seems like you were the reason it did.

Ishbia: Well, I don't know about all the talks from the summer. I just know my conversations with Joe Tsai and James's with Sean Marks. It was not months. It was days and hours to put the deal together. I'm obviously a different variable and obviously I had to understand the luxury tax and understand what that is. And that was about four or five seconds of the conversation, because that was not a discussion. We were going to do what it takes to win and be successful. And I believe in business money follows success, not the other way around. So I'm not focused on every dollar. We'll make money. I promise we'll make money. That was the mentality. And it was a team decision, as in me and James and Ryan [Resch] who works with James and my brother [Justin] was involved. We were all talking about it.

SI: It sounds like you being willing to pay the luxury tax penalties was a part of this getting done.

Ishbia: I think that’s part of it. The money part was not an issue. So we took that off the table right away. Then it was, ‘what's best for our team?’ Can Kevin make us a better team? Is Kevin going to help us compete for a championship now? What's Kevin Durant's contract? We've got three more years after this year, so we're not having someone for 25 games. We're having someone for three and a half years. So that was a big part of the conversation. And then understanding Devin Booker and Chris Paul and what Kevin Durant does to the floor with them and Deandre Ayton. And then our role players, how they fit in and understanding what we can get in the buyout market. Understanding all the pieces, like the first-round picks.

All these conversations, we had them for hours and hours and hours in a room talking about it and getting everyone's perspective. And James obviously is the leader of that and knows it better than I could ever know it. And so I give him a lot of the credit. The financial piece was five seconds. They know I'm ready. That doesn't bother me. Now let's talk about is this the right thing for the Phoenix Suns organization? And I think we quickly figured out that it was.

Ishbia signed off on one of the biggest midseason trades in NBA history just a week after taking over the Suns.

Rick Scuteri/USA TODAY Sports

SI: Was the decision to make the deal unanimous?

Ishbia: It was. This was the right decision for the team and for the business and for the players. It wasn't a tough decision. We really didn't want to give up some of the guys, because we love those guys. They were winners and we didn't want to give them up. But at the end of the day the right decision was, what do we do to maximize our team for today and for the next three to four years? This is going to be what the Phoenix Suns are about. The vision is not, ‘Let's win a championship.’ Of course we'd like to. But the vision is, ‘We're going to be the leading franchise in the NBA. How do we do that?’ We have to have a culture of winning. We have got to make sure the fans love it. We're doing great in the community. We've got to do great there. This is not about just winning this year. “We're going to win again in '27 and '29 and '31. We're going to try to win all the time. I'm not into the planning to win phase, I'm in the let's win today phase and let's win tomorrow phase. And you can't always do it, but you're going to try.

SI: How risky is this deal?

Ishbia: I think there is no risk. I don't look at it as a risk at all. I look at it as a vision and a decision. And you go with your decisions and you run with it. It doesn't mean everything's going to work out or that we’re going to win multiple championships and you know it was right. You have to play the games.

However I don't look at it like a risk at all. I know what the vision is. I'm going to own this team for 50 years, so like zero [risk]. I don't need to come in and win in the first year. But at the same time, there's nothing in my life that I don't want to win at. We're going to try to win everything we do. And so I don't look at it as risk at all. Everyone can say what they want to say. If something happened and we didn't win, it was still the right thing. You make the decision with the best available information you have at the time, you make the decision and then you run with it and you try to make it work.

SI: What kind of team owner do you see yourself being?

Ishbia: I think my job as an owner is to put great people in position with all the resources they need to make the right decisions and then support them, good or bad, with those decisions. I'm not watching film on the draft picks. James will recommend who he thinks and we'll talk about and he might understand my vision on how character really matters and leadership really matters and that I'm not willing to sacrifice that. So he'll know my vision of what matters to me and what I believe in as a human being and as a leader of an organization. But James will pick the best player. And that's his job. I'm not calling Monty Williams to ask him why we played someone. That's not my thing. I'll watch the game like a fan and cheer the team on. That's what my job is to do, is to be the biggest supporter, to give Monty Williams all the support he needs, to give James Jones all the support they need, to give the players all the support they need.

SI: You were approved for ownership by a 29–0 vote. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, your competition in the mortgage business, abstained. Your reaction?

Ishbia: I wasn’t surprised. I know who he is.

SI: Can you two co-exist?

Ishbia: Absolutely. I can co-exist with anybody as an owner. There's going to be different owners that I spend more time with and pick their brain more. If I saw Dan today, we'd shake hands and say hello. We're normal people. But we're not giving each other advice and being friendly in the business side. I have no negativity towards him. He's probably not one of the first owners I'll call for advice on ticket sales or sponsorships, but I'm friendly to everybody. But I'm fine talking with him. And we'll compete. We'll compete like we do in the mortgage business. I'm sure we'll end up competing at some point on the court.

It is interesting. I would have liked to have heard him elaborate on that because you are giving up two key players 8 years younger who wanted to be in Phx long term AND 5 first rounders (probably 5 because I imagine the swap takes place).

Now you can have 2026 FA plans in your head, but that's a much bigger crapshoot than the draft. Most big name players stay put..a few may move but many on that list are old. I originally thought Lillard but he will be older than KD is now. Hopefully Bridges, but he may be a star in Brooklyn..the guy I always thought he could be when making comparisons.

Then the risk part. NO RISK is not a good answer.

A good answer if he wanted to play down risk is "There are risks with any move....but...." Not "no risks". Anyone knowing the injury history of KD, Paul, the limit on Paul's time and maybe KD's, in addition to all that you are giving up and sacrificing as a chance of building through the draft.

Building through the draft is typically how the best sustainable teams are built. It is ok to build other ways but that option has been taken off the table until 2030 and players drafted starting then probably take a few years to make an impact, so you are looking a decade out. You better hope you can sign players in FA because draft assets will be limited. Not really any key players to trade then. I've seen some mention by then we can trade multiple picks again.

You are rolling the dice giving up so much for a little better chance at a ring. With guaranteed health, the chance at a championshp would be quite a bit better than it was, at least for now, I think, but we were close the last two years in a tight finals matchup and then just completely blew a game 7 in the 2nd round that was uncharacteristic..it wasn't like we were dominated in that whole series. And we'd have a better chance of being healthy with Bridges than KD, not even considering Cam.

And Bridges has improved immensely so our team would have likely been better anyway with Cam starting (vs Jae's incredibly cold playoff shooting) and Bridges' massive improvement.

But the key is health, and that's something that can hardly be counted on with this team.