New Owner - Mat Ishbia

[Hoop Head]

this team has gone to ish-bia

our future has gone to ish-bia

somewhere sarver us laughing his ass off

That makes this suck even more. Not the first time I've thought about that either.

you can't buy a championship - this isn't fantasy football - and owners should stick to putting successful more knowledgeable people in place to make crucial calls

Ishbia still hasn't signed his own GM. That's coming soon, I believe. I was always weary of the idea his deep pockets would make this team relevant since the KD trade happened. That did happen 2 days after he took control so it's fair to use as a nexus point. Some here swore Ishbia's deep pockets would allow us to land softly or stay relevant but his reckless spending has hurt us over and over again. No NBA team has been able to spend frivolously to success. Deep pockets allow an already successful team to be kept together but they've never been able to purchase a collection of talent that creates a new contender.

 

[Mainstreet]

That makes this suck even more. Not the first time I've thought about that either.


Ishbia still hasn't signed his own GM. That's coming soon, I believe. I was always weary of the idea his deep pockets would make this team relevant since the KD trade happened. That did happen 2 days after he took control so it's fair to use as a nexus point. Some here swore Ishbia's deep pockets would allow us to land softly or stay relevant but his reckless spending has hurt us over and over again. No NBA team has been able to spend frivolously to success. Deep pockets allow an already successful team to be kept together but they've never been able to purchase a collection of talent that creates a new contender.

In regard to the part in bold, Jerry Colangelo might be an exception, with the Arizona Diamondbacks winning a championship.

 

[elindholm]

(im completely sober btw lol haven't had a drink for weeks)

Congratulations, but if you're a dedicated follower of the Suns, you picked a lousy time to give up drinking!

 

[Hoop Head]

In regard to the part in bold, Jerry Colangelo might be an exception, with the Arizona Diamondbacks winning a championship.

I should have mentioned the NBA specifically because rhe system in place with the salary cap, max salaries, annual salary exceptions, and the confines of the CBA system in place there isn't a way to spend into success. The Yankees built a dynasty with a checkbook in MLB and there are outliers like the Marlins and Diamondbacks who can finance a competitive window but that's all it is, a window. Look at the NBA though and every team who tried assembling a collection of high priced talent and they've failed. Look at Brooklyn with KG, Pierce, Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, and many more. It happened again with KD, Kyrie, and Harden. Same can be said of the Zeke built Knicks. Even the Lakers failed when they did the Steve Nash, Kobe, Dwight, and Pau team.

 

[Mainstreet]

I should have mentioned the NBA specifically because rhe system in place with the salary cap, max salaries, annual salary exceptions, and the confines of the CBA system in place there isn't a way to spend into success. The Yankees built a dynasty with a checkbook in MLB and there are outliers like the Marlins and Diamondbacks who can finance a competitive window but that's all it is, a window. Look at the NBA though and every team who tried assembling a collection of high priced talent and they've failed. Look at Brooklyn with KG, Pierce, Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, and many more. It happened again with KD, Kyrie, and Harden. Same can be said of the Zeke built Knicks. Even the Lakers failed when they did the Steve Nash, Kobe, Dwight, and Pau team.

The new CBA did change the landscape in the NBA. If Mat Ishbia had owned the Suns in the prior era, he might have been able to buy a championship or at least had a better chance.

 

[Yuma]

The new CBA did change the landscape in the NBA. If Mat Ishbia had owned the Suns in the prior era, he might have been able to buy a championship or at least had a better chance.

It's the luck of AZ sports. We always have had small pocket owners. We finally get a billionaire and they change the rules on us.

 

[GatorAZ]

It's the luck of AZ sports. We always have had small pocket owners. We finally get a billionaire and they change the rules on us.

We’d still be in big trouble under the old CBA.

 

[AzStevenCal]

We’d still be in big trouble under the old CBA.

Yeah we'd still be in big trouble but we'd have had a slightly better chance of fixing our roster problems. Not that I think it would have been enough.

 

[Phrazbit]

Yeah we'd still be in big trouble but we'd have had a slightly better chance of fixing our roster problems. Not that I think it would have been enough.

It would be easier to tear down but I think we'd have just as much trouble trying to make it competitive.

 

[AzStevenCal]

It would be easier to tear down but I think we'd have just as much trouble trying to make it competitive.

We'd have been able to sign some players midseason that could help us but yeah, I'm confident we still would have come up short of our goal. We just aren't winning a title with KD no matter what the cap rules are. If we'd added him to a complete team, that would have been a very different situation but as it was, we needed far more than an aging superstar.

 

[CardNots]

We'd have been able to sign some players midseason that could help us but yeah, I'm confident we still would have come up short of our goal. We just aren't winning a title with KD no matter what the cap rules are. If we'd added him to a complete team, that would have been a very different situation but as it was, we needed far more than an aging superstar.

yep as we gave up two key pieces of that complete team

Thinking backwards we should have unloaded the UofA turd after the finals with the Bucks for a rising young star and a few draft picks…

 

[AzStevenCal]

yep as we gave up two key pieces of that complete team

Thinking backwards we should have unloaded the UofA turd after the finals with the Bucks for a rising young star and a few draft picks…

Thinking back even further we should have never hired Monty and maybe Ayton never spirals down like he did? DA was never going to be the superstar we wanted/expected and he was always going to have motivation issues but a lot of functional players do. They just have to be handled a little differently and freezing them out, ignoring them, never talking to them is not what a real leader does.

DA needed a coach who didn't act like a petulant child when he didn't get his way. The Ayton that played in the postseason during our finals run was still a little inconsistent but that was probably the best Ayton we could hope for. All we got out of him after that was basically disappointment and frustration but even that was better than what Nurk gives us.

 

[Hoop Head]

Thinking back even further we should have never hired Monty and maybe Ayton never spirals down like he did? DA was never going to be the superstar we wanted/expected and he was always going to have motivation issues but a lot of functional players do. They just have to be handled a little differently and freezing them out, ignoring them, never talking to them is not what a real leader does.

DA needed a coach who didn't act like a petulant child when he didn't get his way. The Ayton that played in the postseason during our finals run was still a little inconsistent but that was probably the best Ayton we could hope for. All we got out of him after that was basically disappointment and frustration but even that was better than what Nurk gives us.

I disagree here. Monty tried to get through to Ayton and sometimes there's no getting through. We all saw that clip from I believe the Clippers series where Monty coached Ayton up and he had a great final finish in that game. I believe Monty's patience eventually gave out but I don't blame Monty for that as that's who Ayton is.

Plus I wouldn't trade the 2021 run and 22 season. Did it get us a title? No. Absolutely no one predicted we'd be finals bound though and I'll take that run over coddling Ayton, which probably wouldn't have resulted in any more than that. I'd need to see some evidence we could have been more than we were under Monty with someone else as coach.

I think part of the issue, right or wrong, is JJ didn't back Monty as coach. He allowed too many issues to creep up and left unaddressed until they blew up in our face.

 

[CardNots]

Thinking back even further we should have never hired Monty and maybe Ayton never spirals down like he did? DA was never going to be the superstar we wanted/expected and he was always going to have motivation issues but a lot of functional players do. They just have to be handled a little differently and freezing them out, ignoring them, never talking to them is not what a real leader does.

DA needed a coach who didn't act like a petulant child when he didn't get his way. The Ayton that played in the postseason during our finals run was still a little inconsistent but that was probably the best Ayton we could hope for. All we got out of him after that was basically disappointment and frustration but even that was better than what Nurk gives us.

I mostly agree with your thoughts.

Monty couldn’t motivate a fly to land on a pile of crap

In defense of Monty, there is a difference between providing motivation to a person to do something you need and a non motivated person.

No matter the motivation skills one has a non motivated person will find their comfort level quickly. In other words, it will not stick. I do understand Monty’s frustration in dealing with a non motivated person.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I mostly agree with your thoughts.

Monty couldn’t motivate a fly to land on a pile of crap

In defense of Monty, there is a difference between providing motivation to a person to do something you need and a non motivated person.

No matter the motivation skills one has a non motivated person will find their comfort level quickly. In other words, it will not stick. I do understand Monty’s frustration in dealing with a non motivated person.

I think Monty is excellent with a certain type of person but Crowder and Ayton were not his kind of people and that caused problems. And that wasn't just while he was coaching Phoenix, he has a history of bending over backwards for his type of guy and cutting off communication with the ones he doesn't like.

 

[CardNots]

I think Monty is excellent with a certain type of person but Crowder and Ayton were not his kind of people and that caused problems. And that wasn't just while he was coaching Phoenix, he has a history of bending over backwards for his type of guy and cutting off communication with the ones he doesn't like.

Crowder didn’t seem to like being a bench contributor. Crowder wasn’t a “YES” man which fits with Monty’s style of coaching.

 

[Covert Rain]

Yeah we'd still be in big trouble but we'd have had a slightly better chance of fixing our roster problems. Not that I think it would have been enough.

I don't even think it's slightly. The team has shown an ability to pull of unexpected trades. Not to mention that without the 2nd Apron rules Ishbia would care even less about the ramifications. Meaning that he would have spent likely a bunch more on rounding out the bench. Plus, Ishbia even acknowledged it's not the money that will force him to make changes soon. It's the Suns draft picks dropping to the end of rounds per rules if they stay over the 2nd apron.

IMO, Isbia becoming the owner and the new rules couldn't have possibly come at a worst time.

 

[Phrazbit]

Today was supposed to be the first day for season ticket renewal, but an email was sent out announcing a change in the renewal window and it will be updated later.

This, to me, is the biggest sign yet that they might be about to blow the whole thing up.

 

[Yuma]

Today was supposed to be the first day for season ticket renewal, but an email was sent out announcing a change in the renewal window and it will be updated later.

This, to me, is the biggest sign yet that they might be about to blow the whole thing up.

Maybe if they had a big move they wanted to announce to generate excitement. Like maybe adding Butler, etc. If you blow it up for a bunch of draft picks and nobodies, that doesn't generate ticket sales.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Today was supposed to be the first day for season ticket renewal, but an email was sent out announcing a change in the renewal window and it will be updated later.

This, to me, is the biggest sign yet that they might be about to blow the whole thing up.

If they were blowing it up, they wouldn't delay ticket sales...they'd want as many as possible.

 

[Phrazbit]

Maybe if they had a big move they wanted to announce to generate excitement. Like maybe adding Butler, etc. If you blow it up for a bunch of draft picks and nobodies, that doesn't generate ticket sales.

I think it’s a two way street.

If they land Butler, they want to charge more, if they blow it up they know they have to charge much less.

Enthusiasm is probably as low as it’s been in 8 years.

 

[Yuma]

I think it’s a two way street.

If they land Butler, they want to charge more, if they blow it up they know they have to charge much less.

Enthusiasm is probably as low as it’s been in 8 years.

Idk if people are as negative as this forum. On the Suns subreddit, people tend to be a lot more positive about the team. When I go to the games people are generally having a good time. Suns are still a thing people want to do in Phoenix.

 

[Raindog]

Idk if people are as negative as this forum. On the Suns subreddit, people tend to be a lot more positive about the team. When I go to the games people are generally having a good time. Suns are still a thing people want to do in Phoenix.

The difference between "casual fans" and diehards. As long as the team is borderline playoff level and has some recognizable "stars," casual fans are usually engaged. They typically go to games as a social activity and winning or losing is a pretty secondary consideration. Obviously, all the fans would prefer to see them win a title, but the casual ones aren't going to lose sleep over it... unlike most of us who participate in these dedicated online forums.

 

[Phrazbit]

Idk if people are as negative as this forum. On the Suns subreddit, people tend to be a lot more positive about the team. When I go to the games people are generally having a good time. Suns are still a thing people want to do in Phoenix.

I go to about half the games, it’s nothing like it was a couple years ago. It’s a boring team that gets crushed by anyone that puts up a real fight.

In 21 and 22 the atmosphere was awesome.