Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia may be dealing with some noisy financial chatter, but for now, his grip on the franchise is not in question. According to reporting from the Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin, Ishbia is in “zero” danger of being forced to sell the team.
That matters because Ishbia’s run in Phoenix has already packed plenty into a relatively short stretch. There have been plenty of moves that played well with fans, starting with more television access through Suns games airing over the air on Arizona’s Family. He also trimmed some of the pain at the arena by rolling out a $2 value menu.
But the headlines around Ishbia have not all been flattering. Minority owners alleged in November 2025 that he was using the franchise as his “personal piggy bank,” and that came before United Wholesale Mortgage, Inc. reported $452 million in losses for Q2 of this year.
Ishbia has also made it obvious what kind of basketball operation he wants to run. His Michigan State connections are well known, and that influence has shown up throughout the organization with GM Brian Gregory, head coach Jordan Ott, player development coach Mateen Cleaves, and trade pickup Miles Bridges, all tied to MSU.
For now, that vision is still moving forward. The Suns acted fast this offseason to keep their own free agents, bringing back breakout point guard Collin Gillespie, injury-prone center Mark Williams, and Dan Majerle Hustle Award winner Jordan Goodwin on team-friendly deals. They also added former Los Angeles Lakers sharpshooter Luke Kennard, who led the league in 3-point percentage a season ago.
Even with the off-court noise swirling around Ishbia, the front office has stayed focused on continuity. The idea has been to keep talent in place while also adding new pieces so the roster doesn’t go stale.
And whatever critics think of Ishbia, one thing has been hard to argue with: he’s willing to spend. The Brooks extension, in particular, underscored a commitment to a changing culture and to making the NBA team feel more like a college program. Those early returns helped Phoenix shatter expectations in 2025-26.
The business side of Ishbia’s world will keep drawing attention in the years ahead. But at least for now, he appears to have enough runway to keep building through the rest of the Booker era in Phoenix.
Whether that window produces a championship is still the big question.
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Phoenix finished the 2025-26 season at 45-37 under Jordan Ott, and the roster looks built to take another step if the pieces mesh the way the front office expects. The Suns kept most of their core intact and added Miles Bridges, Luke Kennard and Koa Peat, giving the group more depth and a different look around its established scorers.
The bigger question is how smoothly those additions settle into the rotation and whether the new mix can cover what changed elsewhere on the roster. There are reasonable pathways for the Suns to move up in the Western Conference picture next season, but the margin will depend on how well the lineup balance comes together when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]