Phoenix Suns' owner Mat Ishbia deserves a lot of credit for his team being one of the surprises of the NBA season as they made the playoffs, but if you were paying attention then this was always the plan.
Ishbia going on record several times last offseason to talk about mistakes made in the past in trying to cut corners to win and becoming more involved in the long-term strategy in The Valley.
Admitting mistakes saved the Suns from horror future
It takes a lot to hold your hands up and say you came out too hot after buying an NBA franchise, but we all know the Suns did exactly that in trading for Kevin Durant. However defendable that was, following it up with a move for Bradley Beal was not.
From there Ishbia went and got a first year head coach in Jordan Ott who ended up finishing fifth in Coach of the Year voting. He also added a first time General Manager in Brian Gregory, and although the ties to Michigan all three have was used to mock the franchise at the time, it is a decision that has worked out.
In order to build success your key players behind the scenes and on the sidelines have to be aligned. After trying out veteran head coaches and having James Jones in position to call the shots, Ishbia realized that he needed his own guys to bring the Suns forward.
There are still problems in The Valley stemming from their decision to go all in a couple of years back, which is why it will be hard for them to find a suitable co-star for Devin Booker.
But this is an organization that did manage some form of damage control by landing Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green as part of the Durant trade to the Houston Rockets. Beal remains a sunk cost, but Ishbia still has the most important component of all in trying to get back to contending once more.
Booker has bought into the vision, publicly commending coach Ott on the stability he has brought to the Suns since being hired. The head coach rightly deserves that praise, but Booker might as well have been talking about the front office, GM and owner as well.
There are still some painful times ahead and Booker deciding he wants out to contend elsewhere would be the toughest test of Ishbia's grand plan. But for now his decision to backtrack on his initial approach was the best thing that could have happened to the Suns.
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