3 takeaways from Mat Ishbia's end of season media availability
By Luke Duffy
The Phoenix Suns suffered the indignity of a sweep in the opening round of the NBA's postseason and the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the offseason is going to be a long and ugly postmortem into how exactly this happened.
Drizzled on top of that will be endless trade rumors and speculation surrounding their top three players, with talk of Devin Booker joining the New York Knicks somehow having already spent days in the league's news cycle. This despite the rumors being debunked by a media member much more in the know than most others.
With the organization on shaky ground right now, Suns' owner Mat Ishbia addressed the media on Wednesday, and there were plenty of talking points once he was done.
General Manager James Jones also spoke to the media - and although Ishbia assured everybody in attendance that nobody's job is under threat just yet - plenty of fans appear to have run out of patience with Jones. That may be unfair though, because Ishbia has always appeared to be a hands on owner.
Having this media availability in the first place was further proof of that, as it is not something that happens very often. Here are the main takeaways from what turned out to be over 40 minutes of both men speaking to the media, and what it says about the state of the organization after one of the most disappointing seasons in their history.
3. The Suns aren't prioritizing the draft
It became clear from the responses of both Ishbia and Jones that the NBA Draft is not an avenue the Suns see as a serious way to add a player who can help them win in the near future. Given the lack of draft picks the franchise currently have that makes sense, although the Suns do have a late first rounder in this year's draft.
A class which many believe will be one of the most underwhelming in recent memory. Still, the chance to add a young player on a cheap contract should in theory be exactly what the Suns are looking for. They currently have not only the highest salary bill in the league, but their luxury tax owed for next season rivals the salaries being paid out by some other teams.
"If fans like to look in the future and say hey, I really like that 2031 draft pick, because maybe that seventh-grader is gonna be really good and we’re gonna draft them and one day he’s gonna be a player. You ain’t going to like the Phoenix Suns... because we’re gonna say draft picks are to get great players."
- Suns' owner Mat Ishbia
Given Ishbia's massive swings to acquire both Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, this shouldn't come as a surprise. Then again, this is a team that has no outs and no young players or even many picks to move to change their situation in the immediate future. Not that the top brass in The Valley care, as they clearly aren't taking the draft seriously as a viable way of getting better anytime soon.