(Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
Recently, the Phoenix Suns were purchased by Mat Ishbia, a billionaire who is the CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, a mortgage lender.
It seemed to herald the start of a new era for the Suns, a franchise that had been dogged by allegations of racist and misogynist behavior stemming from Robert Sarver.
But in just five months of owning the Suns, Ishbia has made some major changes, and in doing so, he has reinvigorated a team that had appeared stale during the first half of this season.
He made a blockbuster trade for future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Durant, made a bold coaching change by firing Monty Williams and replacing him with Frank Vogel, and now he is in the process of landing Bradley Beal.
In Mat Ishbia’s first 5 months as owner of the Phoenix Suns, the team has:
Traded for Kevin Durant
Fired Monty Williams
Hired Frank Vogel
Traded away Chris Paul
Traded for Bradley Beal pic.twitter.com/sJlZVBnEqc
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) June 18, 2023
The Suns have had plenty of good teams over the years, and they have reached the NBA Finals three times, but they have never won it all, giving them the image of a bridesmaid organization.
Oftentimes, it takes wholesale changes from the top down, starting with an organization’s core philosophies and operating format, to overcome this trend.
Now, with Beal on his way, Phoenix appears to be one of the frontrunners to win the world championship next season.
Still, questions remain.
The team will have even less depth than it did before, as Chris Paul and Landry Shamet will be leaving as part of the trade.
Backup point guard Cameron Payne will move into the starting lineup barring another move, and the team will be losing one of its best 3-point shooters off the bench in Shamet.
There is also the question of whether Phoenix will have a quality point guard who can effectively run the show without Paul.
But at least for now, optimism is running as high as the mercury in the Valley of the Sun.
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