Suns Owner Mat Ishbia is Here to Win Now
Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia is here to win, at all costs. That was evident in the moves the team has made since he first took over.
12 hours after being officially introduced at a press conference, Ishbia completed a late-night deal to land Kevin Durant in the winding hours of the league's trade deadline.
Shortly after Phoenix again spiraled out of the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs, Ishbia dismissed head coach Monty Williams and eventually brought on NBA champion coach Frank Vogel.
Another blockbuster deal was made with the Washington Wizards for Bradley Beal, and the team's free agency period yielded arguably the most talented class of players on minimum contracts.
From the top down, there's belief the Suns will be a winner soon.
"We are going to win at everything we do," Ishbia told ESPN's Brian Windhorst in a recently released interview. "I don't believe you accomplish anything by being average. That's not who I am.
"I hope to win now, and then we'll do the work and figure out how to manage it later."
Suns general manager James Jones chipped in, too.
"We've been encouraged and charged with doing bigger things," Jones said. "When you do bigger things, it requires more work, more output. And it requires more collaboration and more cooperation from the entire team. We're here to do great things, not just be a good team but be an elite team.
"I love where we are right now. We're talking about forming the best team in the NBA."
The Suns undoubtedly have all of their chips pushed to the middle of the table, something Phoenix felt they needed to do after a team featuring Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Chris Paul ultimately wasn't able to get the job done.
Whether that bet pays off is still unseen, though it's refreshing to see the Suns operating under new ownership that is willing to spend no matter the cost.
