Front office affairs going public proves Suns are as dysfunctional as ever

The Phoenix Suns have done everything they can this summer to try and go in another direction around Devin Booker, and much of the business they have done so far has both made sense and backed that up. The franchise have two new centers in Khaman Maluach and Mark Williams, while Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green are going to help right away too.

Bradley Beal may have left for pastures new - and boy are his new team happy to have him on their roster - but he won't be missed. Kevin Durant on the other hand will, but change was necessary and it allows the Suns to think about how best to ensure Booker gets as close to the mountain top again this decade now that he is 28-years-old.

Front office issue going public is a massive step backwards.

Although owner Mat Ishbia has gone public this summer in saying all of the right things to get the fanbase back onside, the latest from behind the scenes is yet another unwelcome distraction. We won't go into the specifics here because there is no need to, but you can check out the relevant details here.

All you need to know is that two minority owners of the franchise are suing Ishbia and the Suns over an alleged refusal to produce internal documents and a lack of transparency. It is also important to note that the two people who are doing this, are the only two remaining individuals from when Robert Sarver was overseeing the organization.

No matter what the outcome of this case, this is not what the Suns needed at this stage of the offseason and moving forward. They were supposed to be building slowly for a brighter future, not once again being in the headlines for all of the wrong reasons. Previously it was for massively underachieving on the court, but this is even worse.

It also brings into focus why Booker would want to continue his tenure in The Valley, and at this point fans couldn't even begrudge him if he wanted to leave. All he's ever done is show up and try to win basketball games, yet for the last two seasons having Durant alongside him meant watching as his co-star took to social media far too often to engage in meaningless spats with fans.

The belief was that this was behind the franchise, and that a new head coach in Jordan Ott could form a tight knit group of younger guys around Booker. Yet just when it looked like there was reason for optimism, Ishbia is again in the news. Prior to this his outspoken opinions on how good the roster was with Booker, Durant and Beal was also rightly made fun of, but this is a new low.

There isn't even any basketball to distract from this situation on the horizon either, and it puts another dark cloud over the organization. If what is being reported is also true then it is another worrying sign about Ishbia's time in charge to this point, but that is a conversation for another day. Mat Ishbia and the Phoenix Suns, just cannot get out of their own way it seems.