Suns’ owner Mat Ishbia Recent Policies X-rayed And Given Constructive Criticism.Whats Your Take On Them?
Short-term goals and long-term goals. These are phrases that I use quite often as I speak to the different types of ways to view how the Phoenix Suns operate.
Whether it is an injury or constructing a roster, you must always look at the issue through the lens of whether a decision around it affects your short-term goals or your long-term goals.
Short term, is it the right move? Is it an immediate fix? And it is something that negatively impacts your long-term goals? Long-term, you want overall growth and success, so while you make decisions that affect your short-term, you must always keep the long-term in perspective.
Suns’ owner Mat Ishbia is a hybrid of this thinking methodology. He has made numerous decisions that affect long-term goals (i.e. – allowing the majority of first-round picks to sit in the banks of opposing teams around the NBA).
You may feel that he is comprising the future with these short-term goal decisions.
Since he has taken the reins as the owner of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury, he has made decision after decision without worrying about one primary variable: money.
It is a strange new world for the fan base to accept. For nearly two decades, we had an owner who was afraid to rub two nickels together.
Decisions were made with (relatively) minuscule amounts of money that led to the break up of quality teams and a fractured culture, especially from a national perspective.
Ishbia is looking to win at any cost. He is invested in his team and wants the Valley to become a primary destination and a franchise that is synonymous with success.
On Thursday night, with the commissioner standing alongside him, it was revealed that the city of Phoenix would host the 2027 NBA All-Star Game. It is another feather in his cap as he is in the process of fulfilling his mission.
Prior to the 2027 season, Phoenix has numerous decisions to make with their own team. The Suns have an apartment in the second tax apron luxury complex, which presents challenges when putting together a roster. Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, both of whom have been quality contributors to the team, will be free agents next year.
We’re trying to win a championship and we’re gonna try this year and then we’re gonna try to figure out how to do it next year,” Ishbia said on Thursday. “And signing free agents is what it’s gonna take.
And having someone’s Bird rights gives you an advantage to be able to keep those players even if you’re into the luxury tax. We’re not frivolous with money and just spending money to spend money.
What we’re trying to do is win a championship and build the best team possible.”
Despite what many think, Ishbia has both short-term and long-term goals in mind. The team does have outs. Just because they don’t have draft picks right now, doesn’t mean this team is void of options. Beal, Durant, Booker; all of these deals have a life expectancy on them, which will open new doors and new opportunities.
Ishbia has invested in the community, and with the All-Star Game coming in 2027, this is another win for Phoenix. The money injected helps the economy and puts the city on the national stage during one of the prettiest months of the year.
It is a delicate balance, navigating these goals, and we will not truly know how it all shakes out and if the decisions were the correct ones until years from now. At the end of every season, only one team is holding Larry. The path to get there is full of twists and turns.
Hopefully, Mat has pulled the right levers to get the Suns to that point and that moment. But even if it doesn’t happen, he is giving the team a chance.