On the eve of the 2026/27 season. The sun the owner Mat IshbiaThe sun is ahead Dylan Brooksand former Suns forward Kevin Durant mixed it up on social media after Durant shut down Ishbia’s comments in an interview with CNBC’s Alex Sherman (Link to YouTube).
When asked about the decision to acquire Durant from Brooklyn and the subsequent decision to trade him to Houston two and a half years later, Ishbia suggested he was more involved in moving around the organization’s personnel by the time the team made the latest deal as he focused on building the culture he wanted in the organization.
“When I bought the team, the team was I think the eighth or ninth seed,” Ishbiya said (story via ESPN’s Michael C. Wright). “We had some good young players (and I was) who were like, ‘Can we go over?’ Basically I was told, “Hey, as an owner, stay out of this and give them some money.” And so I said, “Look, we’re going to introduce a luxury tax.” Go do everything to try to win the championship.” We did it.
“But (the roster after the Durant trade) didn’t match my vision. We had a couple of years and it didn’t work out, as we well know at this point. After this year, I decided to trade Kevin Durant, bring in my GM (Brian Gregory), bring a (new) coach (Jordan Ott), and get extremely involved personally, with the type of guy and person we want in our organization, not just on the court but off the court. I’m not saying it’s Kevin Durant or not Kevin Durant. But this is Dylan Brooks. That’s right Jordan Goodwin. That’s right Colin Gillespie. That’s right Very Igadara. of course Devin Booker.
“We’ve identified what’s important to us. We have a thing called the Suns DNA. The type of player we believe in, the type of player we want. … What I’ve learned, my biggest lesson is it’s not positive or negative about Kevin Durant — we have to define what we’re about in Phoenix and then stick with it and believe in our vision and our path. I didn’t do that in the beginning. I kind of just threw money at a problem.”
Responding to Ishbia’s comments, Durant tweeted, “#blameKD even though KD stayed at the top of his game at 36 years old and gave you back that ‘culture’ you love so much. Yeah Matthew acts like I got arrested for DUI or Sumn.”
Ishbia, in turn, suggested that Durant misinterpreted his comments and insisted that he did not blame Durant for the Suns’ disappointing results during his time in Phoenix. “But (I’m) happy with the culture we’re building here in Phoenix.” Ishbia added (via Twitter). “We have the right guys and the right focus right now and we’re excited about this season. We wish Houston the best of luck this season.”
Brooks, never one to shut up when there’s an opportunity to talk trash, chimed in via Instagram, as The Arizona Republic’s Dwayne Rankin reports (via Twitter). Brooks, who was acquired from Houston in the Durant trade, wrote: “Thanks, Matt, for cleaning up that locker room stink before I came. #culture”.
We have more on the Suns:
- In the same CNBC interview (Link to YouTube), Ishbia predicted this year’s Suns will be better than the version that won 45 games last season and said he believes the club is capable of winning a playoff series.
- Sun sniper Luke Kennarddealing with a sprained left knee, still has a chance to play in the team’s regular-season opener at Portland on Wednesday. Head coach Jordan Ott said Monday that Kennard “did more” in today’s practice and that he would have a lower-impact day Tuesday to “try to be right” on Wednesday (Link to video on Twitter through Rankin).
- Assuming Kennard is available, the Suns will likely open the regular season with a 10-man rotation that includes Booker, Brooks, Jalen Greenand Miles Bridges in the starting line-up and Gillespie, Goodwin, Kennard and Ryan Dunn leaving the bench Rankin writes for The Arizona Republic. Igadara and Haman Maluach will complete the rotation, although it is not yet known which of the two centers will start.
- As Rankin points out, for the second year ahead Rusher Fleming competed for a spot in the rotation, but will likely fall behind Dan on the depth chart. While Fleming is a better 3-point shooter and has good length and athleticism, the Suns like Dunn in a backup-four role because of his defense and hustle, Rankin says.
- U story for his Suns After Dark PatreonGerald Burge breaks down why he sees Igadaro’s new three-year, $29 million extension as a steal for the Suns, talking about the big man’s third year as one of the NBA’s most underrated players.
- In case you missed it, the Suns set up their regular season on Monday by refusal two-way players Kobe Brea and CJ Huntley and conversion Duop Rit and a waiver claim Drew Tim on bilateral contracts.
