Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia posted a lengthy tweet on Thursday about why he opposes tanking and why it's bad for the league. As Brian Windhorst said on the Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective podcast, though, while he agrees with Ishbia, you can't ignore that the organization traded control of its future draft picks.
In other words, Phoenix doesn't stand to benefit from tanking. Maybe Ishbia's stance on tanking would remain the same even if the Suns were headed for a high draft pick, but we don't know that for sure because they're not.
What we do know, since Ishbia took over in 2023, is that he's tried to put Phoenix in the best position to win games, even if it's blown up in his face. He orchestrated the Kevin Durant trade almost immediately. A few months later, the Suns traded for Bradley Beal. Neither of those deals worked out, but his intention was to try to win a championship (and it still is). They weren't a second tax apron team just for fun.
Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia says he's against tanking
After last season's disaster that ended without a trip to the play-in tournament, Phoenix hired a new head coach and GM, traded Durant, and used the waive-and-stretch provision to get Beal off the roster. The Suns gave Devin Booker a two-year, $145 million extension, which isn't something that a team waving a white flag would do.
Ishbia said before the season started that he expected Phoenix to be "competitive" and one that fans would "be proud of." He was ridiculed for that because many didn't think that would be possible in a tough conference, but you know what? He wasn't just saying that to say it.
The Suns are seventh in the conference, 10.5 games up from the No. 11 seed (where they finished last season), and only two games back from the No. 6 seed. There is a world in which Phoenix could make the playoffs without going through the play-in tournament. Talk about a culture reset and complete turnaround.
They're doing it with Booker and a pretty solid supporting cast featuring Dillon Brooks, whom the Suns acquired in the KD trade, and Mark Williams, whom they landed in another offseason deal. The vision that Ishbia had over the summer has come to life, but of course, his end goal is still to win a championship. They're not there yet, but they're a lot closer than most expected.
Again, perhaps Ishbia would be singing a different tune if Phoenix had a chance to draft Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer, and AJ Dybantsa. Or maybe he'd still hold the same belief. You can't say for sure, but what you can say is that his actions have backed up his opinion.