Phoenix Suns' owner Mat Ishbia spoke to the media in the aftermath of his team's playoff exit recently, and he covered a wide range of topics.
Ishbia happy to continue growing with what Suns already have
But if there is one area many fans are going to be disappointed, it is surely with his comments on free agency this summer.
Ishbia seeming content to bring back the key players that they need to (Mark Williams, Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin) and then working from there.
He also believes that the franchise does have the potential to get better and work towards winning a playoff series, but that the growth will have to come from within.
Rookies Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Fleming were two he mentioned by name, and there is no doubt that the latter looks primed for a bigger role next season.
But this will no doubt be a setback for those in The Valley who believed that what we saw in 2025-26 was as good as it can get from this group, and that changes need to be made.
Aaron Gordon is a name that has surprisingly come up with being linked to the Suns, but Ishbia was never going to mention any potential trade targets by name.
As far as he would go on that topic was being open to trading for the right kind of player of the opportunity arose, which it is unlikely to if the Suns don't want to go above the apron again.
This may sound like a boring summer is what is in store for us, but that kind of quiet continuity is exactly what the organization needs after the up-and-down (mostly down) Kevin Durant era.
Ishbia himself again spoke about needing to lead the team in the right direction, having failed to do so when he first bought the franchise.
That includes publicly backing Devin Booker as he has already done, while continuing to spend the money necessary to build a winner.
He has no problem doing that either, but now realizes that jumping into the second apron again is not a good idea, which is why growth has to come from with.
The Suns will get another cheap opportunity to do just this with the 47th selection in the NBA Draft. Given their solid track record of identifying talent in the last number of years, they may just be able to add another youngster to the back end of their rotation.
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