Suns Owner Not Interested in Rebuilding

PHOENIX -- No matter how this tumultuous season ends for the Phoenix Suns, there will not be a rebuild anytime soon under owner Mat Ishbia.

After making aggressive trades to bring Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to the Valley and losing full control over all of the Suns' first-round picks through 2032 since taking over as owner in Feb. 2023, Ishbia told ESPN's Tim MacMahon that there will be no tearing down the team.

"It's surprising to me that other people, other fans, they actually like the rebuild process," Ishbia said, disdain dripping from his voice as the final word of that sentence comes out of his mouth. "Like, 'Oh, let's rebuild it.' Are you crazy?! You think I'm going to go for seven years and try to get there? You enjoy the 2030 draft picks that we have holding? I want to try to see the game today. I want us to win today, and we're going to try.

"Although let's say this doesn't work, guess what? Maybe next year we won't be as good, but we're going to try again. The next opportunity we have, we're going to try to win and compete. And it will work. We will win championships here in Phoenix. Might not be this year, but I promise you we are going to do it. And that's what we're focused on."

After it had been reported several times, Ishbia and Devin Booker both went on the record to MacMahon say the plan is for Booker to remain in Phoenix his whole career.

MacMahon wrote:

"Never mind that there are plenty of rival executives who would advise Ishbia and the Suns to consider listening to offers, specifically from the Houston Rockets, who control a significant chunk of Phoenix's future first-round capital (2025 swap rights, 2027 and 2029 picks, all unprotected) via a deal with the Brooklyn Nets. Sources have told ESPN that the Rockets have repeatedly expressed interest in Booker, a 28-year-old star who fits Houston's timeline, and that those conversations have been brief.

"'Never happen,' Ishbia said, interrupting the question. 'It's silly. So here's what I'll tell you: I have Devin Booker in the prime. In order to win an NBA championship, you got to have a superstar. You got to have a great player.'"

With the Suns sitting at 30-36 and 2.5 games out of the last play-in spot, even with Ishbia on the books for highest payroll in NBA history this season, the Phoenix owner is not holding out belief in his team.

"'So what's the reason?' Ishbia said via ESPN, rhetorically asking why the Suns have fallen so far short of expectations. 'I don't have the answer. If I had the answer, I'd fix it right now.

"'I still believe in our team. I still believe in Coach (Mike) Budenholzer. I believe in the guys we have. And at the same time, at the end of the season, if we don't get to where we expect to get to, I'll have enough data and evidence that it didn't work or it did work. And then we'll make decisions based on that.'

"'It's been a really disappointing year. Very disappointed,' Ishbia said. 'There's not a person in the organization that doesn't feel that way. We had high expectations. We felt really good about where going into the season and we've not met any of those expectations. We've been well below what we all expected, and it's not anything close.'

"In his next breath, Ishbia reiterated that a postseason bid is still within the Suns' reach.

"'If we get in the playoffs, I don't think that we're an easy out for anybody,' Ishbia said."

However, there could be big changes coming to the Suns if they fall short, as MacMahon explained:

"And if they don't, Phoenix's front office will again explore all sorts of potential personnel scenarios as the Suns search for solutions while operating under Ishbia's 'all-in' mandate. According to Ishbia, a 'pivot and reload' around Booker could be the direction the franchise chooses this summer. The futures of Beal and Durant in Phoenix are uncertain after the Suns engaged in trade discussions involving them before this year's deadline. The belief within the front office is that the Suns aren't as far away from contending as the standings indicate.

"Barring a drastic late-season turnaround for the Suns, there is anticipation around the league that Phoenix will entertain trade offers for Durant again this summer.

"'I'll just say that we're going to evaluate in the offseason,' Ishbia said. 'We're going to find a way to win, and it's probably a lot easier winning with Kevin Durant than without him. But at the same time, yes, if we're not good enough in this iteration of the Phoenix Suns, we're going to find a way to be better next year.'"

A lot of people have been skeptical of Ishbia's approach to building the Suns given the results so far. Here is how he responded to those critics (via MacMahon):

"It's easy to take shots. And I guess the biggest thing is when you put yourself out there -- which I will always do, so you can have fun with this for a long time -- when you put yourself out there and saying you want to win and be the best and you don't, people really enjoy when you don't. So that's what's happened. We haven't been where we wanted to be.

"I could have come in with low expectations, say, 'Hey, in the next five years, we're going to try to build this the right way. In eight years, maybe we'll win a championship.' I came in and said, 'Let's try to win now.' And guess what? I'll say that again next year and the year after, and one of these years we're going to win it.

"And I'm not just ruling out this year, but at the same time it has not been good this year, and we know that here."