Suns' Mat Ishbia: 26 Other NBA GMs 'Would Trade Their Whole Team for Our Whole Team'
May 2, 2024
Phoenix Suns governor Mat Ishbia says he is confident in his team's construction despite it being swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
"Ask the other 29 GMs— 26 of them would trade their whole team for our whole team and our draft picks and everything as is," Ishbia said Wednesday, per The Athletic's Doug Haller. "The house is not on fire. We're in great position. It's not hard to fix. It's not like we're like, 'Hey, we don't have enough talent to win a championship.' We have enough talent to win a championship."
Ishbia said he had not yet discussed the futures of head coach Frank Vogel, general manager James Jones or the Suns' roster, according to Kevin Zimmerman of ArizonaSports.com.
"I don't think it's a blow-it-up and all these things people want to talk about," Ishbia said, per Zimmerman.
The Suns' 2023-24 season ended Sunday with a 122-116 Game 4 loss to the Timberwolves, marking the first time in four seasons the team hasn't made it to the conference semifinals.
Haller and Shams Charania reported earlier this week for The Athletic that the Suns were going to "take a hard look at making a full coaching change or, at the very least, discuss adjustments to coach Frank Vogel's staff."
Vogel has been the Suns' head coach for less than a year since he was hired after three seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers in June 2023.
Jones, who was promoted to general manager in 2019, was meanwhile expected to return, Haller and Charania reported.
ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel additionally reported that the Suns had decided to return their star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal next season.
Ishbia said that those discussions had not yet taken place.
Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet"Not one discussion about my GM, my coach -- we're trading players now, supposedly, in the media. Not one discussion's even been had, let alone a decision being made."<br><br>Mat Ishbia will meet with players, Frank Vogel and James Jones over the next 3 days to have those conversations <a href="https://t.co/my7Y9W6zNI">pic.twitter.com/my7Y9W6zNI</a>
Ishbia said the Suns are in a "great position" heading into next season, per Mark McClune.
"We didn't win an NBA championship, so we're going to figure out what we've got to change, what we've got to tweak, what we've got to improve to be better to win a championship next year," Ishbia said. "And guess what? We might not win one next year, but we're going to sure as hell try, every single year. So get ready for that."
The Suns owner added that fans needed to put Phoenix's 49-33 regular-season record "in perspective" when considering the team's first-round exit.
"It feels like we won 12 games, the way people are acting," Ishbia said. "Which is fine, because the reality is that we're trying to win a championship."
Ishbia took over controlling interest in the Suns alongside the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury for $4 billion in February 2023.
Since the team has yet to return to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021.
Now Ishbia says he is planning to have conversations with Vogel and Jones over the coming days in the hopes of planning for a deeper playoff run in 2025.