Mat Ishbia press conferences are so predictable they should come with bingo cards.
He speaks extremely fast. Words run hotter than a NASCAR engine. He will promise multiple championships. He’ll claim full accountability for failures while speaking in tones of defensive defiance. He’ll give numerous shoutouts to the Phoenix Mercury, his WNBA franchise that has nothing to do with the occasion. By the end, his energy and bombast will be endearing and exhausting.
But there was something a bit different on Thursday. Ishbia was clearly stung by recent criticism from ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, who said the Suns owner is on pace to become the worst owner in NBA history. He called Smith “disrespectful.” Ishbia said he is fully expecting an apology in the near future. We’ll see about that.
Ishbia also thinks most Suns fans view him as a great owner. For lowering concession prices. For ignoring profit margins and putting his team on free TV. For spending more on luxury tax than the sixth-seeded Pistons spent on payroll, on a Suns team that embarrassed him and everyone else in the Valley. For building new headquarters and bringing back a G-league team. For succeeding everywhere Robert Sarver failed.
Ishbia is right about one thing. There are levels to bad owners in the NBA, and Ishbia is nowhere near the bottom. He deserves massive amounts of credit for his willingness to overspend in pursuit of a championship, a trait that is very uncommon in professional sports. Comparing him to the real dregs of NBA ownership (Donald Sterling, Ted Stepien, etc.) is absurd.
Ishbia has fired three coaches in two years, but two of them (Monty Williams, Mike Budenholzer) deserved it. His blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant went bust but was hardly derelict, and most media agreed with the transaction in real time. We also marveled at the roster upgrades following a 49-win season under Frank Vogel. And would anyone be complaining about Ishbia if the previous regime had the sense to draft Luka Doncic and not Deandre Ayton?
Alas, Ishbia’s unforgivable sin is the hubris displayed in trading for Bradley Beal and the worst contract in the NBA, a player also represented by the father of Josh Bartelstein, the team’s CEO. You can imagine how lines might get blurred.
In other words, Ishbia deserves the same patience he himself struggles to show. He deserves time to learn, fail and get it right. Already, he’s learned and failed a lot, doing everything well except for producing compelling, winning basketball teams.
Interestingly, Ishbia met with the media by himself on Thursday. Bartelstein and GM James Jones followed as a combo platter, and it’s a good bet at least one loses their job in the coming purge. Ishbia also countered charges of his own meddling by saying he’s getting even more involved in the future, vowing to better serve Planet Orange by making his standards extremely clear.
Starting now, he wants the Suns to project an unmistakable identity. He wants them grimy. He wants them gritty. He wants you to feel proud of their effort at all times, even if they lose more than 46 games in the regular season.
In other words, it’s a long way back to the highway and even longer to the NBA’s fast lane. And yet another journey back begins with baby steps.
Reach Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station
