According To Suns Owner Mat Ishbia, Success For The Suns This Season Won't Be Measured In Wins And Losses, But By Success......Wait What?

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Since becoming the new majority Governor of the Phoenix Suns, Mat Ishbia in my opinion has done everything you would want as a fan. Just because some of the decisions didn't exactly work out doesn't mean the intentions weren't in the right place. He came in and put his wallet on the line and made major trades, bringing in Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. He blew right through the 2nd apron and said fuck the future, which in hindsight was a disaster, but at the time I respected. He was willing to cut the checks to attempt to build a winner and maximize their window, which what every owner should be doing.

He's also made games way more accessible to the fans in his market, which is another huge win.

But as I said, the reality of the situation as we enter the 2025-26 NBA season for the Suns is unfortunately, their previous plan failed miserably. As a result, they've smashed the rebuild button. Kevin Durant is out. Bradley Beal is out. Tyus Jones is out. After trying to ride the fast lane to contention, the Suns are starting over and going about things the hard way. Young players, internal development, a new head coach etc. Given that they play in the brutal Western Conference, I think we can all agree that it'll be a tough year. Rebuilds are never easy, there's never a guarantee that it all works out in the end, but what it does bring is a new set of expectations. The previous year, it was NBA Finals or bust given the team they put together. 

But now? Well, let's hear how Ishbia himself will be viewing this season

Wait…

Giphy Images.

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So success won't be measured in wins and losses, but it's going to be measured in success? I'm not the only one having trouble understanding how that logic works right?

Part of me thinks his brain short-circuited a little bit after saying "success" the first time, and from there he went full Michael Scott

What I think Ishbia was getting at was that success won't be measured in wins and losses (which for a rebuilding team is fine), but rather how things change/develop in these areas

Honestly, that would make more sense and would also align with what we heard from Joe Dumars yesterday, which I agreed with. Winning in the NBA is a process. First, you have to establish the culture. Then you have to learn how to compete on a nightly basis. Then comes the winning. That's how it works in every single rebuild outside of the teams that skip steps and just sign blue chip players to form a superteam. My gut tells me that's what Isbia meant in terms of how he'll evaluate the Suns this year, which to me is the right approach.

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Newsflash, there won't be many wins. This team got 62 games from KD, 75 from Booker and 53 from Beal last year and they didn't even win over 36 games. Now, not only are those players gone, but so are key depth pieces, all of which have been replaced by young players. The Suns enter this season with 3 rookies on guaranteed deals (2 more on Two Ways), and 4 more players who are in Year 2. That's essentially half of their 15 roster spots. Those types of rosters don't tend to win at a high level when they're only joined by 1 All Star (Booker) while also playing in a conference that is absolutely LOADED from top to bottom. 

Not to mention there's an entirely new system to learn and whatnot, I'd say Ishbia not giving a shit about their record is the right mindset to have at this stage of their rebuild. If you're better than expected? Great! But if not, that's not what this season should be about. The Suns are in their internal development stage of their rebuild, which will have it's own set of growing pains. 

So on the surface, Ishbia's comment made no goddamn sense. But when you try and put together what he may have actually meant, it's not so crazy. I get the sense that he's learned from the previous seasons and that approach, and now is willing to endure the tough times that comes with a proper rebuild. In addition to being willing to spend, an owner being able to be patient is also important if rebuilding is the path you are choosing. 

Now it's on the front office to show they are actually capable of building a team that way.