Matt Ishbia’s comment about the Suns’ team-building approach blew up fast, and Kevin Durant’s response only pushed it further into the spotlight.
The quote that set everything off came from a recent interview, when Ishbia said, "I kind of just threw money at the problem... Bringing in super talented players like Kevin Durant doesn't necessarily lead to championships." Durant answered on Twitter and made it clear he felt Ishbia was pointing the finger at him for Phoenix’s lack of success.
But the bigger point in Ishbia’s remark seemed less about Durant and more about the way the Suns were constructed. Ishbia came into Phoenix wanting to win right away, and he made that clear with the way he moved once he took over as owner. He helped usher in a massive trade for Durant, and not long after, the Suns made another major move for Bradley Beal.
Those decisions were made by the front office, but Ishbia’s willingness to spend helped make them happen. The timing of those aggressive swings lined up with his arrival, and that was the message underneath the comment: the approach was bold, but it didn’t deliver what Phoenix wanted.
Durant was just the most obvious example of the idea. The Suns assembled big names, but the concept of simply stacking talent didn’t work out. That’s the real failure Ishbia appeared to be acknowledging.
In the modern NBA, just collecting stars is not enough. Teams need the right blend of talent, spacing, defense, role players, depth and rebounding.
Phoenix went big on star power and left the rest to sort itself out. It didn’t.
That’s why the quote landed the way it did online, even if Ishbia may not have meant it as an attack on Durant. He may have been doing something simpler - admitting the plan didn’t work.
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Suns Moving On From Haywood Highsmith Says Plenty About This Roster
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Highsmith now heads into the market as a familiar sort of candidate for teams looking for defense, energy and depth without asking for a major commitment. For Phoenix, though, the move says plenty about where the Suns see their current rotation and how much confidence they have in the pieces they brought in this summer. A player can do enough to stick for a stretch, and still become expendable once the roster math starts to harden. [Read more 🡒]