PHOENIX — It’s been less than one year since billionaire and mortgage executive Mat Ishbia became the owner of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury. In that time frame, both teams have seen significant changes.
From the firing of former Suns coach Monty Williams to the slew of trades that included fan favorites like Chris Paul, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Cameron Payne, and most recently, Deandre Ayton, rallying the Valley will look significantly different in the upcoming season.
“People can criticize what they want. But my perspective is this: we're trying to win a championship. And there's not one thing that I'm doing or we're doing as an organization that's not about winning a championship,” Ishbia said.
Ishbia admits his style and pace might not appeal to everyone.
“People who don’t like moving too fast, they’re not going to like me, because we’re always gonna move fast,” Ishbia said. “We’re always going to change; we’re always going to improve.”
But Ishbia sees championship-winning teams as a way to give back to the community.
“We're gonna always be trying to get better every single day. Improve our team, improve our organization, improve the fan experience, make things better for the community, all those things,” Ishbia said. “And so yeah, we're gonna make trades. Not that we don’t care about each player and the coaches, but we have to. We have to win.”
The goal to win isn’t just aimed at the Suns.
The Phoenix Mercury, also under Ishbia’s ownership, struggled to find its stride in the 2022-2023 season. Head coach Vanessa Nygaard was fired midway through her second season with the team, a bout of injuries kept key players off the court for multiple games, and the team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
“That's not where we expect to ever be, you know, at the bottom of the standings,” Ishbia said. “That won't happen again. We're not going to miss the playoffs.”
His solution? Bringing in free agent players, getting a “great” draft pick, hiring a new coach, and investing in the team.
That investment is already taking shape, with Ishbia and the team announcing a new $100 million “state-of-the-art” practice facility specifically for the Mercury, who currently share a practice space with the Suns.
The new 123,000-square-foot facility will reserve more than 58,000 square feet for the women’s team to practice, making it the third WNBA franchise (along with the Seattle Storm and Las Vegas Aces) to have its own designated practice facility.
“Building a state-of-the-art practice facility for the Mercury, for the women, investing in everything that they do so we can win at the highest level in the WNBA is a really big deal,” Ishbia said. “And so, this helps everyone from the Suns to the WNBA, to the Mercury, to everyone.”
From the Suns to the Mercury, Ishbia has an objective, and his teams have their marching orders.
“We are trying to win a championship. There's not a question,” he said. “We're not afraid to say our goal.”
