Who are the Phoenix Suns? What is their basketball identity?
It’s okay if you don’t have the answer to that question, neither does team owner Mat Ishbia — and he is part of the reason that identity hasn’t formed. Of course, it’s better for him politically to throw fired coach Mike Budenholzer under the bus, so that happened, too, in a lengthy interview with Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. Here are a few highlights of what Ishbia said.
“We got to get the next hire right and we will,” Ishbia said at the team’s practice facility. “The team and the roster that was constructed by (Suns general manager James Jones and CEO Josh Bartelstein), scouts, the front office is much better than a 36-win roster.
“There’s a lot of reasons why Coach Bud is not here. I’m not going to get into all those reasons, but definitely believe we should’ve won a lot more games and been a lot more competitive during those games as well,” Ishbia said. “Wish him the best, but it was the wrong coach for our organization and for that team and at the end of the day, you can blame me for it because I’m the owner…
“We’re going to look for someone that fits the vision of Phoenix Suns basketball,” Ishbia said. “Someone who is going to live out exactly what I’m talking about. Someone who is a little bit grimy, a little bit tough. Have a little bit of that in them.”
A few thoughts on Ishbia’s words.
• The Suns’ lack of an identity can be directly tied to the way Ishbia pushed his front office to add talent in a fantasy basketball way rather than a thoughtful building out of a roster. The result was evident on the court, and it’s not all the coach’s fault. Or coaches. Budenholzer has a ring and has won at the highest levels with teams built for his style of play. The same goes for Frank Vogel, who was fired before him. Then there was Monty Williams, who took this team to the NBA Finals but was fired by Ishbia when he first bought the team. See the pattern here?
• Ishbia is right that Budenholzer proved to be a poor fit for this team. He did not connect with the veterans, including Devin Booker, who this franchise plans to rebuild around.
• Throwing Budenholzer under the bus will play well with fans, and, more importantly, in the locker room and with guys like Booker, who had friction with Coach Bud.
• While the coaches are on a revolving door, the front office of Jones and Bartelstein appear safe. Is it wise to let the guys who helped build out this failed roster retool it?
• We’ll see which “a little bit grimy, a little bit tough” coach the Suns go with, but maybe it is time to go with one of the top assistants in the league, rather than a bigger name coach.
• More than a new coach, this roster needs an overhaul. Kevin Durant will almost certainly be traded this summer, although the question is where (Houston, with its deep supply of draft picks and young talent, is the preferred destination for Phoenix, but Marc Stein reports that the Rockets are not thrilled about adding a 37-year-old KD to their young core). Miami might have interest, and there are others. But the market for KD — and the contract extension he wants and expects — may not be as deep as the Suns and Durant hope.
• The Suns also will try to trade Bradley Beal this summer, but with his big contract and no-trade clause, that’s a much tougher sell.
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