Mat Ishbia

Suns Sued By Two Minority Shareholders

August 27th, 2025 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of Suns minority shareholders – Kisco WC Sports and Kent Circle Investments – have sued the team in a Delaware Chancery Court, reports Michael McCann of Sportico. The minority owners say in their complaint that they’re “dissatisfied” with the way Suns Capital Group LLC (Mat Ishbia‘s group) has managed the team.

As McCann details, Kisco and Kent Circle claim they haven’t been allowed to view records and financial information that would help them understand how the franchise is being run and how much their shares are worth. They’re demanding a court order that would allow them to look into alleged “potential breaches of a limited liability company agreement, mismanagement of the team and conflicts of interest,” McCainn writes.

According to Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports, when Ishbia took over as the Suns’ controlling owner in 2023, he gave the team’s 16 limited partners the opportunity to sell their stakes in the team at the same $4 billion valuation that applied to his majority stake. Fourteen of the 16 partners took that buyout offer, with Kisco and Kent Circle representing the only two holdouts.

Kisco has since sought a buyout from Ishbia’s group; there are conflicting reports on whether Kent Circle has done the same. Bourguet’s report suggests both minority stakeholders have looked to be bought out, while McCann says Kent Circle hasn’t done so but has expressed “growing concerns” about management.

The price that Kisco and Kent Circle are demanding from Suns Capital Group LLC to buy them out is based on a valuation in excess of $6 billion, according to Bourguet. The complaint, per McCann, alleges that Ishbia’s LLC didn’t respond in good faith to Kisco’s efforts to divest its shares by June 1 and instead issued a capital call for June 2 with “no advance notice.” The per-unit valuation conveyed on that call was “strikingly low and bears no relationship to the actual value of the company which is worth billions,” according to the plaintiffs.

In a letter to Kisco and Kent Circle, Suns Capital Group LLC indicated it has no objections to the minority partners finding another buyer for their shares, per Bourguet. However, the majority ownership groups insists that the minority stakeholders have no right to demand Ishbia’s LLC be the one to buy them out at a significantly higher valuation than the 2023 price.

Kisco and Kent Circle, meanwhile, argue in their complaint that the majority ownership group has been putting pressure on and diluting the team’s minority owners, citing “mismanagement and lack of transparency.”

According to Bourguet, the plaintiffs suspect Ishbia’s group of entering into undisclosed side deals and also raised questions about the funding of a practice facility for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. As McCann writes, the complaint states that facility was “seemingly paid for using” team funds but that the minority stakeholders were “provided virtually no information” about how it was funded or the process used to determine its funding.

Attorneys for Suns Capital Group LLC will have the opportunity to respond to the complaint, McCann notes.

Suns Owner Mat Ishbia Talks Missteps, Culture Shift, Championship Window

August 22nd, 2025 at 12:01pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia has conceded that he made some team- and culture-building missteps during his first few seasons at the helm. Ishbia is on his fourth head coach in as many years and has already cycled through multiple Hall of Fame players since the end of the 2022/23 season when he assumed control of the franchise.

In an interview on Arizona Sports’ Burns and Gambo show, Ishbia took the blame for the club’s struggles to define its culture. He has addressed this issue in other media appearances this offseason.

“We have young players that are ascending instead of players that are descending,” Ishbia said. “We have players that wanna be here, that are bought into the Phoenix Suns’ culture. I can take the criticism for not defining (that culture) well enough when I bought the team, but it is defined very clearly now.”

These pointed remarks certainly seem to be allusions to the awkward fit of two pricey veterans, All-Star forward Kevin Durant and former All-Star guard Bradley Beal. Neither player remains on the roster, although Phoenix reaffirmed its commitment to homegrown superstar guard Devin Booker this summer with a two-year extension that could be worth up to $145MM.

Here’s more from Ishbia’s interview, which is well worth hearing in full:

On the current roster’s buy-in:

“There is not a player on the team that does not understand what we’re about. There’s not a coach, there’s not anyone in the front office that does not understand that it’s for the fans, and we’re gonna develop a team that they’re gonna be proud of year in and year out.”

On the revamped team’s new long-term title trajectory:

“What I expect is we’re gonna be competitive, a team that you’re gonna be proud of and we’re gonna be building… Over the next couple years, you’re gonna see us follow that same Phoenix Mercury path to be competing for a championship, playing hard.”

On his original expectations for a ready-made champion when he bought the team:

“When I bought the Suns originally, I thought we were on third base… Now, I’ve set a vision. I’ve said, ‘Hey, I know what kind of guys I want, we ain’t trading for guys who aren’t like this.’ …Do I expect it to take a couple years to get to the point where you’re like, ‘Wow, I see the vision?’ Yes.”

Pacific Notes: Suns, Looney, Monk, Niederhauser

July 18th, 2025 at 10:02pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Suns are embracing a new identity, writes Gerald Bourguet for Go PHNX. With Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant gone and Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Mark Williams, Khaman Maluach, and Rasheer Fleming in, the team has pivoted towards a younger, more athletic team construction around the recently extended Devin Booker.

The Suns now enter into a phase they will find unprecedented during the brief tenure of Mat Ishbia‘s ownership: one of patience. However, Bourguet writes that Ishbia’s own words make the concept of following through on a more long-term team build a question mark.

“When I make a mistake or things don’t go well, I change fast,” Ishbia said during exit interviews this spring. “We make quick moves, and I’m not afraid to do that… Patience isn’t gonna be my strongest suit, okay? We’re gonna try to compete and win, and we’re gonna get better.”

However, Ishbia did give reason to hope.

“I’m very patient if I think we’re on the right path and plan,” Ishbia said. “So, say it again, I expect us to win more games next year. But let’s just say we lost more games next year, but it was aligned, the vision and the tone that I’m gonna set, and we’re on a path, then we’re gonna go that way.”

We have more from the Pacific division:

Kevon Looney‘s departure from the Warriors was facilitated in part by his lack of playing time, especially in the playoffs, as Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area relays. “It was anybody but me it seemed like at this point. It wasn’t no one moment,” he explained during an appearance on the Warriors Plus/Minus podcast. “Even this year, probably the playoffs. We going up against Steven Adams. This is what I do. They’re not really giving me the chance to really let me do what I do.” Looney added that after 10 seasons in Golden State, he didn’t feel like he should still have to prove himself or his worth. “When you prove yourself the first four, five years, all right, cool. But after 10 years of it, it’s like, all right. You either trust me or you don’t.” He added that he knows the coaching decisions from Steve Kerr weren’t personal, but he still felt that he drew the short end of the stick in Kerr’s quest to win.
After the rumored Kings sign-and-trade of Malik Monk to bring in Dennis Schröder never took place, Monk is ready to do what’s needed to win, writes Will Zimmerle for SI.com. The Kings now have Schröder and Zach LaVine as their presumed starting backcourt, and despite Monk expressing a desire to be a starter in the league in the past, he’s reportedly willing to go to the bench if that’s what coach Doug Christie needs. “Malik has told Doug Christie, ‘I will do whatever you need, even if that includes coming off the bench,'” Matt George of ABC10 said on a recent ESPN radio show. “I don’t think he’s going to pout or throw a fit about it.” Monk was runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year in 2023/24, but split time as a starter last year and put up career-highs in points (17.2) and assists (5.6) per game.
The Clippers‘ first-round pick, Yanic Konan Niederhauser, showed different skills in each of his first three Summer League games, writes Broderick Turner of the LA Times. While defense is his primary selling point, he was able to display some of the offensive package that intrigued the Clippers enough to select him with the No. 30 pick in the 2025 draft. “That’s the guard skills I was talking about,” Niederhauser said of a high-energy dunk he was able to throw down over a defender on a fast break. Those guard skills come from when he was a 6’5″ 16-year-old, before the growth spurt that shot him up to 6’11” and cemented his future as a center. “For a guy that’s his age, he’s still learning and growing into his frame that he hasn’t really had his whole life,” said general manager Trent Redden. “We just haven’t had a guy that size at that position in a backup role that’s young that we can feed into and give to our developmental staff.” Niederhauser enters a developmental situation where he can learn from two high-level defensive bigs in Brook Lopez and Ivica Zubac.

Suns’ Ishbia Talks Offseason, Beal, Ott, Maluach, Green, Brooks

July 18th, 2025 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of the Suns‘ trade of Kevin Durant and buyout agreement with Bradley Beal, team owner Mat Ishbia admitted that he may have taken the wrong approach when he took control of the franchise two years ago and immediately began throwing draft picks and money around to build an expensive, top-heavy roster.

“The big thing I learned is you got to start and have the vision and identity from day one and I did not do that with the Phoenix Suns,” Ishbia said during a Thursday interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “I thought, ‘Hey, let’s add some money. They’ve already got a good thing going. Let’s untap some resources and it will only get better,’ and that’s not how it works.

“… Everybody has got to have an alignment of what we’re about here in Phoenix and we didn’t do a good enough job of that. That’s on me. I’ll take the blame.”

“Alignment” has been a recurring talking point for Ishbia and the Suns this summer as they made changes to their front office and brought in a new head coach for the third consecutive offseason.

Ishbia said during his SiriusXM NBA Radio appearance that he and new general manager Brian Gregory are “completely aligned with what we’re trying to do,” and brought up “alignment” again when he explained why he doesn’t feel pressure to make sure star guard Devin Booker stays happy in the coming years.

“Devin’s going to be happy because we’re going to try to win,” the Suns owner said, per Rankin. “We’re going to do things that will be aligned with the vision and the identity that he agrees with 1000% and I agree with 1000% along with our GM (Gregory) and our coach (Jordan Ott). The alignment from owner to GM to coach to star/franchise player was never there before, to be clear. It is now and it’s crystal clear.”

According to Ishbia, the Suns are now committed to building “the right way” over the long term, and made it a priority this summer to add “younger, up-and-coming” talent while creating more salary cap flexibility going forward.

Here are a few more highlights from Ishbia, via Rankin:

On parting with Beal:

“He’s a great guy. Just not a fit with Phoenix Suns going forward. We told him that. We made that decision. We let them know wanted to move forward without him. It doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. It doesn’t mean he’s a bad player. … He’s a great player, but for Phoenix and what we’re doing, it wasn’t a fit and we had to move on and make those decisions.”

On why the Suns hired Ott as their head coach:

“We had to get a coach that’s thinking forward and not looking back. Not looking at what worked in 2020, but what’s going to work in 2030. What’s the future and Jordan Ott is an unbelievable basketball mind. Praised by everybody we reached out to, every reference possible and we’ve been really happy with him so far. He’s young, he’s going to build with our team and he hopefully can be a great coach for the Phoenix Suns for the future.”

On No. 10 overall pick Khaman Maluach:

“We’re excited about Malauch. He’s 18, though. People have unreal (expectations). He’s 18. I have a son that’s 14. He’s four years older. He’s still a kid and he’s going to develop. It’s going to take a little bit of time, but we really love what he’s got and think he can be a real impact player.”

On the return in the Durant blockbuster:

“We wanted Jalen Green, to be clear. We like Jalen. He’s 23 years old, the leading scorer for the two seed in the West and Dillon Brooks, he’s a straight dog. He’s the type of guy we want here in Phoenix. He’s not on your team, you probably don’t like him, but I’m telling you. … He plays defense against the best player. He’s great around Booker. You put him around Booker, you put Jalen Green with Booker, we feel good about that.”

Suns Notes: Izzo, Ott, Durant Trade, Coaching Staff

June 6th, 2025 at 6:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has seen the jokes about Suns owner Mat Ishbia stockpiling on Spartan alumni, especially following Phoenix’s hiring of new head coach Jordan Ott, but he doesn’t think the correlation is all it’s cracked up to be, writes Duane Rankin of Arizona Republic.

“It looks like Michigan State Southwest, but the truth of the matter is, it’s not that,” Izzo told Rankin in a phone interview. “He’s just got to figure out what it takes to win and I think he’s figured out some of the things he’s done, positively and negatively. He’s got to get some stability. He’s got to figure out his roster and I think you’re going to see Mat more and more visible.”

With Ott marking Phoenix’s fourth coach in four years, stability will be key to moving the Suns into a new, more successful era.

Izzo also praised the Ott hire, saying of the first-time head coach, “He’s great, a really smart kid. Works his ass off. He’s a guy that has enjoyed the process. He’s really a thorough guy.”

We have more news from Phoenix:

Ott has been effortlessly commanding respect from players since he entered the NBA as a video coordinator with the Hawks, writes The Athletic’s Doug Haller. As Haller details, Michigan State assistant coach Dwayne Stephens was immediately impressed by Ott’s comfort level in Atlanta when he visited him in 2014 and saw him working with his first NBA team. “That’s probably when I first realized that this dude has an opportunity to be one of the premier coaches in that league,” Stephens said. According to Spartan athletic director Kevin Pauga, Ott commands a room not with a boisterous presence, but with an undeniable mindset: “You get five minutes (with him), you’re like, ‘Oh, this guy is smart as hell.'”
With Kevin Durant trade speculation heating up, Rankin lists five of the teams he considers most likely trade partners for the Suns. Those teams are the Rockets, Timberwolves, Knicks, Pistons, and Spurs. Rankin believes it’s unlikely the Spurs would consider the No. 2 pick in the 2025 draft in a Durant deal, but thinks the 14th pick could be on the table.
Rankin also looks at potential candidates to join the Suns’ coaching staff as assistants under Ott. David Fizdale, who has been on the staff with the previous two coaches (Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer) is one clear choice. Fizdale had been under consideration for the head coaching position before Ott won it. Mark Bryant and Othella Harrington both coached under Tom Thibodeau with the Knicks and could find themselves looking for work if New York overhauls its staff. Adam Caporn of the Wizards, the Suns’ Brent Barry, Indiana’s Jenny Boucek, and former Ott coworkers Adam Harrington and Phil Handy round out the list for Rankin.

Suns Notes: Ott, Expectations, Ishbia

June 4th, 2025 at 10:15pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Suns hired their fourth head coach in as many years on Wednesday, bringing aboard former Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott on a four-year deal.

According to John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Phoenix (Twitter link), Phoenix was particularly impressed with Ott’s elaborate offensive plans and his committed work ethic. Current All-Star guard Devin Booker and franchise legend Steve Nash both approved of the hire, Gambadoro notes.

Ott beat out his former Cleveland colleague Johnnie Bryant, the other reported finalist for the role. It took an intensive four-round interview process to replace one-and-done former head coach Mike Budenholzer. Miami assistant coach Chris Quinn, Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney, Thunder assistant Dave Bliss and Phoenix assistant David Fizdale were among the apparent top contenders, having survived multiple rounds of meetings themselves.

Phoenix has failed to even get past the first round of the playoffs with its pricey All-Star triumvirate of Booker, forward Kevin Durant and guard Bradley Beal. Last year’s iteration finished outside of the play-in tournament. It is anticipated that the Suns will attempt to trade Durant and Beal. Since Beal has a no-trade clause, he would need to be on board with his next destination.

There’s more out of Phoenix:

Ott, who had also been a finalist for the Hornets’ head coaching role last spring, seems likely to align with the vision Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia and new general manager Brian Gregory have previously laid out, observes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Ishbia spoke about wanting to find a “grinder” during an April presser. During Gregory’s first press conference in his new role this May, he stated that Phoenix was looking for a coach with deep basketball knowledge and an investment in playing a tough, physical brand of basketball.
Ishbia, who has overseen significant roster and coach turnover since taking over the franchise, plans to get even more hands-on with the team from now on, per Gerald Bourgeut of PHNX Sports. Ott, like Gregory and Ishbia, is a Michigan State alum. Bourgeut notes that, should both Ott and Gregory not meet the moment, Ishbia could receive even more scrutiny for his hiring choices than he has in the past. A source told Bourgeut that Ishbia, himself a former player for the Spartans, emailed his basketball operations team this week, claiming he needed to be more involved in constructing a team culture. Ishbia added that he intends to be “extremely active in the decisions and management,” per Bourgeut’s source.
In case you missed it, mutual interest reportedly remains between the Spurs and Durant on a potential trade.

Suns GM Gregory Discusses Ishbia, Coaching Search, More

May 7th, 2025 at 3:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to the media at his introductory press conference as the Suns‘ new head of basketball operations on Tuesday, general manager Brian Gregory acknowledged that his long-standing relationship with team owner Mat Ishbia was a major factor in his promotion from vice president of player programming to the top of the front office, writes David Brandt of The Associated Press.

Gregory was an assistant coach at Michigan State when Ishbia played for the Spartans as a walk-on in the early 2000s. The two men have known each other for the last 25 years and Gregory suggested on Tuesday that their “alignment,” a word he used repeatedly, will be an asset for the Suns going forward.

“I’m never going to shy away from the fact that one of the reasons I’m sitting up here is because of my relationship with Mat Ishbia,” Gregory said. “But that relationship is founded on our alignment. Shared values. Shared work ethic. We’ve been through a lot together. He trusts me and I trust him.”

Gregory, who was a coach at the college basketball level from 1990-2023 before joining the Suns’ basketball operations department, had very limited NBA front office experience. However, he noted that he has been able to “work with really every facet of the organization” over the past two years, which helped prepare him for the job. He also stated that his three-plus decades as a coach shouldn’t be discounted when discussing his qualifications.

“Thirty-plus years of basketball experience, the last two being here in Phoenix,” Gregory said, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “The knowledge and experience I think puts me in a good position to be successful in this role, but I think the thing that’s going to separate me and give me an opportunity to be successful and make a positive impact is my focus on building that identity and creating that alignment that Mat talked about a couple of weeks ago.”

Here are a few more of Gregory’s notable comments from Tuesday’s presser, via Brandt and Rankin:

On the Suns’ head coaching search:

“We’re doing an extensive process in that right now. I’m not going to give a timetable because I want to make sure we get this right. This is very, very critical for us moving forward.”

On rumored trade candidates Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal:

“I have a very good relationship with both those guys. Kevin gave me a nice hug in the weight room the other night when the news came across Twitter. Had a great dinner with Brad Beal last Thursday and we talked a little about summer plans and different things like that. My main focus, to be honest with you, is finding the right head coach for those guys.”

On the role CEO Josh Bartelstein will play in the revamped front office:

“He’s involved in every aspect of basketball operations, every single aspect of basketball operations. Josh and I have an unbelievable partnership. When you talk guys working together and getting things done, we’re right there.”

On Ishbia’s potential role in basketball decisions:

“Mat and I are a team. We are completely aligned. As the general manager, my job and my responsibility is to oversee the day-to-day operations … basketball-wise. I report to Mat Ishbia. Mat Ishbia is an owner that is involved and I like that, but he has also empowered me to build this team and to build the identity and to build the alignment that is so important.”

Suns Promote Brian Gregory To General Manager

May 1st, 2025 at 2:49pm CST by Rory Maher

2:49 pm: In addition to officially promoting Gregory and moving Jones to an advisory role, the Suns have also named Oronde Taliaferro as assistant GM and announced that CIO Paul Rivers will now have basketball operations responsibilities, confirming the changes in a press release (Twitter link via Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports).

“Brian has been a valuable member of our front office, playing an integral role in drafting and developing our young players,” said Ishbia. “I am excited for him to step into the role of general manager. He is a brilliant basketball mind, and he will transform and elevate our team.”

2:37 pm: The Suns are making a major change to their front office, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reports that vice president of player programming Brian Gregory will become the team’s new head of basketball operations, with an official title of general manager.

Sources tell Charania that former NBA veteran James Jones, who has been the Suns’ GM since 2019, will become a senior advisor in Phoenix.

Gregory, 58, played four years of college basketball in the late 1980s before transitioning to coaching. He had two different stints as an assistant at Michigan State — the second overlapped with Suns owner Mat Ishbia‘s time with the Spartans, Charania notes.

After 13 years as an NCAA assistant, Gregory landed his first head coaching job with Dayton back in 2003, remaining with the Flyers until 2011, when he was hired away by Georgia Tech. He stayed with the Yellow Jackets until 2016, when he was let go, serving as a special a consultant to Michigan State’s Tom Izzo during the ’16/17 campaign. Gregory was head coach of South Florida from 2017-23.

It’s a rapid rise for the longtime coach, who was hired by the Suns last June. Gregory has been credited for drafting Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro in 2024, according to Charania, and has been in charge of college scouting and the pre-draft process this year, per Jake Fischer (Twitter link).

According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), Josh Bartelstein will remain in his role as CEO. Gregory will report directly to Ishbia, Gambadoro adds.

Marc Stein first reported that Gregory could be in line for a promotion.

Despite having the NBA’s highest payroll, the Suns are coming off a disastrous season, finishing with a 36-46 record and not even making the play-in tournament. That led to the firing of head coach Mike Budenholzer, who had four years left on his contract.

Front Office Rumors: Suns, Ishbia, Myers, Hawks, Connelly, Harrison

April 23rd, 2025 at 7:13pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Suns owner Mat Ishbia is believed to have had a “longstanding” interest in trying to convince former Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers, now an ESPN broadcaster, to return to the NBA to lead Phoenix’s front office, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

Ishbia is looking to add new voices to his front office contingent before hiring his fourth head coach in four years, according to Stein and Fischer, who say it’s is unclear whether longtime head of basketball operations James Jones would be replaced in that scenario or would work alongside a new executive.

If Myers were to join the Suns, he’d presumably be the one calling the shots over Jones, but many sources around the league are skeptical Myers would be amenable to joining the team, Stein and Fischer say, even though Phoenix is relatively close to Myers’ L.A. home. While that could work in the club’s favor, Myers is said to be enjoying his TV job and his consulting work with the NFL’s Washington Commanders, while the Suns are currently deep in the league’s second luxury tax apron without a lot of short-term future draft equity.

According to Stein and Fischer, Ishbia is expected to have a “significant” voice in hiring a new head coach, which suggests that Jones and/or another key front office newcomer might not have as much say in the coaching decision as a head of basketball operations typically would. The Suns are expected to seek out a younger, greener head coach than their last three, with multiple former players likely to be considered, the duo reports.

Here are more NBA rumors:

After firing former general manager Landry Fields earlier this week, the Hawks are looking to pair newly elevated GM Onsi Saleh with their eventual Fields replacement to lead the front office, according to Stein and Fischer. Sources inform the duo that team owner Tony Ressler is open to forking over top dollar for a seasoned front office pro. Myers, who was Saleh’s boss with the Warriors, is a possible target for Atlanta.
While current Timberwolves president Tim Connelly will likely be linked to front office openings this offseason, there’s a league-wide expectation that the Wolves will sign him to a new deal now that Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are poised to take over control of the team from Glen Taylor, Stein and Fischer say.
Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont is reportedly no longer interested in giving general manager Nico Harrison carte blanche when it comes to basketball decisions, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon told former colleague Bomani Jones on the latter’s podcast The Right Time With Bomani Jones (YouTube video link). MacMahon says Dumont is believed to be seeking an experienced front office executive to work alongside Harrison going forward, following his controversial decision to trade five-time All-NBA First Team guard Luka Doncic to Los Angeles in exchange for a package led by injury-prone big man Anthony Davis. “Now, the ‘In Nico We Trust’ era has ended,” McMahon said. “He wants him to bring in an experienced exec. I think he’s realized he’s got to have some checks and balances that weren’t in place… I think this has been a very educational experience for Patrick Dumont in his first full year as an NBA governor. Also, the realization [that] in this world [the] management’s not the stars. The stars are the guys on the floor.”

Suns’ Mat Ishbia: ‘We Should’ve Won A Lot More Games’

April 18th, 2025 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Owner Mat Ishbia directed blame toward former head coach Mike Budenholzer for the Suns‘ disastrous season during a meeting with reporters on Thursday, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Budenholzer, who received a five-year deal worth more than $50MM last May, was fired Monday morning after leading the team to a 36-46 record and missing the play-in tournament.

“There’s a lot of reasons why Coach Bud is not here. I’m not going to get into all those reasons, but definitely believe we should’ve won a lot more games and been a lot more competitive during those games as well,” Ishbia said. “Wish him the best, but it was the wrong coach for our organization and for that team and at the end of the day, you can blame me for it because I’m the owner.”

Ishbia has shown a quick trigger with coaches, dismissing Frank Vogel last offseason after Phoenix was swept in the first round of the playoffs. That came after reaching a buyout with Monty Williams in 2023 shortly after Ishbia purchased the team.

Ishbia spoke Thursday about the importance of getting the next head coaching decision “right.” He credited general manager James Jones and CEO Josh Bartelstein with building a competitive team and stated that the organization is “much better than a 36-win roster.” Ishbia also emphasized the need to find a head coach who works in unison with ownership and the front office.

“Our coach has to believe that stuff as well,” Ishbia said. “It can’t be, I believe this, and front office believes this, and the coach is like, ‘Yeah, but I don’t care that the guys are cheering guys on’ and ‘I don’t care if the guys are paying attention in the huddle.’ That’s not going to do with us. We’ve got to set it first up front with the leadership, it starts with me, and we will do that. And then we will get the right front office structure with scouts and what to look for in the draft and we’re going to find the right coach.”

Ishbia added that he hopes to hire his next coach in the “next week or two.” Rankin points out that the Suns were in the playoffs 2023 and 2024, which gave them a late start on their coaching searches.

Jones admits the current situation offers advantages, even though it’s not where the Suns expected to be.

“I think it was evident given the time crunch and given where we were that it wasn’t as thorough or as deep of a search as we would like,” he said. “Fortunately for us, the season has ended early so it gives us more time to get this right. Unfortunately, the season ended too early, which means that we’re in this position, but we’re going to be diligent.”

The Suns came out of the gate fast under Budenholzer, winning eight of their first nine games and looking like one of the top teams in the West. Rankin notes that things began to unravel in February as they lost 11 times in a 14-game stretch to fall five games under .500. Any lingering hopes for a spot in the play-in tournament disappeared as Phoenix stumbled to a 1-9 record in its final 10 games.

Defense was an issue for the Suns all season as they finished 27th in the league in defensive rating. That seemed to especially bother Ishbia, who told reporters, “That’s just not what we’re going to be about.” Budenholzer’s team was also criticized for a lack of toughness, and Ishbia indicated that will be a consideration in hiring the next coach.

“We’re going to look for someone that fits the vision of Phoenix Suns basketball organization,” he said. “Someone who is going to live out exactly what I’m talking about. Someone who is a little bit grimy, a little bit grinder, a little bit tough. Have a little bit of that in them. I joke, but it’s true, I’m no talent, all heart. That’s my life. I will just outwork everyone. I’m going to have a coach, a front office, players, that the Phoenix community will love because it’s going to be that.”

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