MAT ISHBIA SAYS He has never had a cup of coffee. No caffeine or alarm clock needed.
On Tuesday, it had been active since 3:30 am. His Phoenix Suns went a disappointing 35-26, ravaged by injuries and inconsistency, and preparing for the NBA to formally award the franchise the 2027 All-Star Game. His Phoenix Mercury was in the midst of executing a $100 million plan. dollars to build a 123,000-square-foot training facility. And he still ran a multimillion-dollar mortgage company, United Wholesale Mortgage, and managed 6,000 employees.
I also had not one, but two basketball games to watch that night. The first was a youth game that he coached. The second was the Suns' exciting 117-107 overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets, their best victory of the season and, for the moment, which kept them in sixth place in the Western Conference standings and out of the play-in. tournament.
“I'll do whatever it takes to win,” Ishbia says during a wide-ranging interview with ESPN to talk about his first year at the helm of the Suns and Mercury. “If we have to go through the second platform the [the youth] team too. We will go through the second platform.”
He's joking…sort of.
“I tell my kids (they're 9, 10 and 13) 'The goal is to have fun and get better at basketball, soccer or baseball, whatever you're training. But it's always more fun when you win.'
The Suns are one of five teams on the so-called “second apron” ($182.5 million of the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement, which was intended to act as a kind of hard limit to deter super owners. rich to spend to reach a championship).
The LA Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks are the other teams on the second apron this year. Each of them has indicated a preference to be below that threshold for next season rather than face the draconian sanctions to which second-grid teams are subject.
Ishbia and the Suns are doing the opposite, and he says they will do it again despite the uneven return on the investment Ishbia and his ownership group have made in the team this season. Phoenix traded away most of its future draft capital (the team does not own or control a first-round pick until 2031) and depth for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in Ishbia's first five months at the helm. He has agreed to pay about $53 million in luxury taxes for a team that has teetered on the fringes of the Western Conference playoffs due to a series of injuries to its three stars.
“I understand all the rules that come with the second apron. I understand exactly what the CBA tried to do,” he says. “I read it, I know him inside and out, and we made a calculated decision: We believe the team with the best players wins. Would I rather have Brad Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker than just two of those guys? I'd rather have the three hundred times out of a hundred, and I don't think there's another general manager, owner or CEO who wouldn't say exactly the same thing.
“So how do you maneuver around that? Well, you have to differentiate yourself… I have to create an environment where [we’re] Trying to be the best franchise in sports where players want to come play.”
IN THE YEAR Since paying disgraced owner Robert Sarver $4 billion for the Suns and Mercury, Ishbia says he has focused on creating that environment. Whether it's greenlighting trades for Durant, Beal and former WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper, committing to a new practice facility for the Mercury, hiring Golden State Warriors executive Nick U'Ren, as general manager of the Mercury, spearhead an ambitious plan. To make Suns and Mercury broadcasts free to five times as many people on basic cable, or land the WNBA and NBA All-Star Games, Ishbia says it all has to contribute to the overall goal he has set for his franchises.
“That's what you're supposed to do as an owner,” Durant told ESPN. “It's about fighting for the fences every year.
“What else are you supposed to do? Sit back and wait for a draft pick to turn out to be Victor.” [Wembanyama]? No.”
And he is committed to investing the same amount of energy in Mercury as he does in the Suns.
“Every time he says Suns, he says Mercury,” U'Ren told ESPN. “It's been great because there's a huge need for women and there's a lot of potential for growth and success with someone who cares like he does.”
The aggressive approach has earned Ishbia friends and enemies in a short period of time. One could argue that the Suns forgoing local television revenue to expand viewership could hurt the leverage of other franchises in their broadcast rights negotiations. Or that the construction of a new WNBA practice facility puts pressure on other franchises to do the same, even if they can't afford it. Or that intentionally going beyond the second platform each year frustrates the intention of the new collective agreement.
“I don't think they're worried about what I'm doing,” Ishbia says of other team owners. “I think they like new people to challenge what they've been doing. Maybe other teams don't want to do the TV deal… But I don't work for the other NBA owners, I work for Phoenix fans. My job is serve Mercury and Suns fans.”
And he says he is not worried about recovering what he has invested.
“I never use the term ROI [return on investment]”says Ishbia. “I don't think like that. I plan to invest, do the right thing, build the business, try to be successful, try to win whether it's mortgages or basketball. And you know what? Money always follows success. “No fan cares if the owner makes money. He's a billionaire. How much did he make or lose on the luxury tax? They don't care at all. They want him to do the best he can to help us win a championship.”
1:23
KD drives Suns to overtime win over Jokic and Nuggets
Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal shine in overtime, leading the Suns to a big road win over the Nuggets.
ISHBIA IS TAKING ACCOUNT with the reality that the Suns haven't won as much as expected this season (Caesars had his projected win total at over/under 50.5) as their three stars have missed a combined 48 games due to injuries.
What if this investment doesn't result in a playoff appearance, much less a championship?
“If we don't win this year… which is possible… then we'll say, 'Okay, what can we do better to try to win next year? Do I need to make adjustments? Do we need to make a run?'” Different games? Do we need different players? [we] change something? What do I do?” says Ishbia. “The only thing I'm focused on is how to win now. I'm not thinking about what our 2031 draft will be. [is] it's going to seem “I'm excited about the 2024 playoffs.”
While Ishbia isn't thinking about anything beyond this postseason, a harsh reality awaits the Suns if they can't win a title. They'll likely keep this year's first-round pick (the two teams with trade rights are already in better draft position than Phoenix), but the new restrictions placed on the second-round pick teams will make it difficult for them to make any other significant trades. on the list. They will not be able to recover more money in any transaction than they send. They won't be able to make 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 deals to get another star to play alongside Durant, Booker and Beal. And they won't have access to any exceptions in free agency other than the veteran's minimum.
For better or worse, they are committed to their current core for the next two seasons, after which Durant's contract expires and Beal can become a free agent by declining his $57.1 million player option for 2026-27.
Booker, for his part, is not willing to consider anything beyond this season. “Everyone here is on the same page,” Booker told ESPN. “We're in win-now mode. We want excellence. We know it's not going to be easy. It's a new team, but when you give up so much, we're trying to win this year and years to come.”
