Mat Ishbia's time as owner of the Phoenix Suns has been an up-and-down affair. While there's no doubt he is committed to building a winner in The Valley - and will spend whatever money it takes to happen - it feels like he just can't get out of his own way when trying to achieve this. Not only that, but he has also fallen into several of the classic pitfalls that new owners do.
Making splashy moves for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal being the biggest mistakes, which Ishbia did because he was trying to cut corners to win a championship. In the NBA in 2025 it takes much more than a few star names thrown together to win, these days it is all about depth and continuity. The Suns have failed spectacularly on both fronts.
Ishbia's comments on ESPN experts latest misfire.
Another area Ishbia has to do better - and it is something he had in common with former player Durant - is his desire to bark back at the critics on social media. Howard Beck and Michael Pina sat down for an episode of The Ringer's NBA Show recently, and flat out laughed at Ishbia for continuing to have a go at the "so called experts" out there, when his own franchise is in shambles.
If Ishbia was the kind of owner to quietly have both successful moments and failures, the media would surely give him some room to breathe. But because he's always making bold proclamation - including the famous "26 GMs would swap places with us" gaffe - he then becomes an easy target when things don't work out.
Despite having a generational talent in Devin Booker - who at 28-years-old is right in his prime - the Suns have only gone backwards since Ishbia bought the franchise. His recent praise of the Mercury of the WNBA - which he also owns and who are doing much better - might just have been a dig at the Suns as well.
Why he still gets some credit is because the Suns were in a dark place when Robert Sarver was running the show - although with the last remaining pair of minority owners from the Sarver era suing Ishiba and it being made public - even the shine has been taken off that somewhat too. This team now needs to head off into the wilderness for a couple of seasons, and rebuild quietly.
Ishbia might have signed off on allowing the team to do just that - they've got three rookies and a pair of returning second year players - only for his remarks on being better than people expect to once again heap the pressure on his own team. Time to take some time away from the public eye, and allow the Suns to suck for a bit before hopefully bouncing back.