In case you hadn't heard, all is not good for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks right now. What does that have to do with the Phoenix Suns? On the surface very little, but also quite a lot.
It's not like the Suns would have the best potential package to put together for the 31-year-old's services, while the rumor is that Giannis will have a say in where he goes to next if he does indeed get traded.
Mat Ishbia needs to let this Giannis situation pass Suns by.
But who could have ever predicted that the Suns would be able to trade for Kevin Durant? Even Bradley Beal with a no-trade clause seemed unlikely, and both ended up happening. The point is, when owner Mat Ishbia sets his mind to something, he's got a solid track record of delivering.
He has tried to trade for superstars to get to the top in the past, and it has failed miserably. Which is why he cut a more composed figure at media day ahead of this season, and everything he has done since then has backed up the claim the organization is taking a long-term approach to success.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to be sidelined for approximately 2 to 4 weeks with a right calf strain, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/k5TyjEo6Eh
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 4, 2025
But this is Antetokounmpo we're talking about. Better yet, the Suns now have a head coach in Jordan Ott who would have a field day using him in his schemes on both ends of the court. Center Mark Williams is having a career year, how good do you think Giannis could be?
Some combination of Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Williams himself and perhaps even former Buck Grayson Allen might get Phoenix in the room. But the franchise would be repeating the same mistakes of the past, as they would be financially stuck and have a lack of depth.
The idea of a Antetokounmpo and Devin Booker pairing is amazing, and there's no doubt the duo would get the Suns closer to contention. But in a world where the Oklahoma City Thunder are going nowhere and both the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets would still be deeper, is it enough?
Right now it is easy to buy into this version of the Suns, because they're exceeding modest expectations and play hard each night. Two years from now if that is still the case and they haven't made the playoffs, it will be a very different story.
But that time hasn't come yet, and Ishbia needs to give coach Ott and this roster some time to figure out what they can become. If Booker was putting pressure on the franchise to make a big move, then this would be a different conversation.
Ishbia has been burnt before and knows that patience is required in trying to build something special. He's picked the right head coach, and even the correct General Manager. They have the superstar and the culture setter in Brooks, so let's just give this thing time to grow before making big changes.