Ryan McDonough’s extension is vital to franchise stability

For months Suns fans have asked if Ryan McDonough both deserved or would even receive a contract extension.

Those questions have been answered.

Sarver makes it official: McDonough contract extended through 2019-2020 season
— scott bordow (@sbordow) July 19, 2017

Suns owner Robert Sarver could not have made a better decision at a better time for the stability of the franchise’s near-term, as well as the fluidity of the current plan for how the team should be designed moving into the future.

Ryan McDonough is the architect of the current rebuilding phase, and he must see it through to it’s ultimate conclusion – for better or worse. He has not only placed the Suns on the path of successive years of strategic tanking, but has made many successful draft picks who are intended to be the core pieces of next stretch of great Phoenix Suns teams.

It now almost then goes without saying, Robert Sarver agrees with the plan of quantity of quality, and fully intends on fulling the ultimate goals of the plan and seeing them through to the future – an apparent level of growth from an owner who is admittedly impatient.

Sarver said he was spoiled first four or five years as owner with Nash, etc. Made him impatient. Now fully committed to youth, draft
— scott bordow (@sbordow) July 19, 2017

Had McDonough not been extended this summer, one of two things could have been fairly predicted from such an unsure situation: one, McDonough would have worked through the season as a lame duck, potentially making moves that the next General Manager would have undone depending on his strategy for the future; and two, the franchise essentially would have remained directionless.

Sure, every move made this season would have been with the ultimate goal of building through the draft at least one more time. However, it would have been entirely up in the air all season whether that plan was guaranteed to be seen through to the end.

Where such uncertainty would have most detrimental for the franchise is in moves made with other teams. Players who maybe have a voice in where they play could have nixed trades to Phoenix based on the unsure nature of the path the franchise was on.

Then in the offseason of 2018, free agents may have avoided Phoenix all-together completely hindering the ability of the Suns to build through this avenue, and thus stunting their growth.

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Like the idea of keeping a military leader for the duration of a war, in the middle of a re-build, maintaining stability at General Manager is paramount to making sure that a long-term plan is entirely played out. Fans and executive leadership alike may clamor for a strategic change of direction at times when the path to victory becomes muddy. But it takes a strong will and total faith in the mind(s) of the strategists to seek the right path to success, regardless of the bouts of occasional resistance.

Re-signing Ryan McDonough will ensure that his vision for the future will be projected onto the future. Unlike the Philadelphia 76ers who became too impatient with Sam Hinki’s Process, Robert Sarver has guaranteed that patience has won the day and that he will not seek a course correction mid-rebuild.

Phoenix Suns fans should be celebrating this move, not as a stroke of genius, but one of clarity. For several years Suns fans have questioned the direction of the franchise. Today, however, that direction could not be more clear and precise.

And Robert Sarver showing faith in Ryan McDonough is the key to the whole thing.