Kevin Durant appreciates Mat Ishbia's effort in pursuing NBA title amid Suns losing season

Kevin Durant appreciates Mat Ishbia’s effort in pursuing NBA title amid Suns losing season

Posted by Admin January 11, 2025 NBA

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Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant understands how expectations rise for a franchise when they acquire him.

“You’re thinking immediate success straight to the championship,” the two-time finals MVP said after Friday’s practice ahead of the Suns facing Utah (9-27) Saturday afternoon at Footprint Center.

Durant said that while addressing the development of Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro as the two rookies are playing meaningful roles for the Suns in their first NBA seasons.

“When you see Ryan go out there and play a great game,” Durant continued. “Oso got minutes. You start seeing him get better and better and more comfortable, now that’s the NBA to me.”

Landing Dunn and Ighodaro are two of the team’s more recent roster moves under Mat Ishbia.

The team owner has made several head-turning decisions that’s led the Suns to have the NBA’s highest payroll, rise above the second tax apron and become the league’s first $400-million team.

Just one problem.

The Suns (17-19) aren’t winning nearly enough to match the billionaire mortgage lender’s massive financial investment, but Durant appreciates that Ishbia is at least making multiple efforts to compete for a title.

“Sometimes you’ve got to try and see to try to figure out where you want to go,” Durant said. “Sometimes it might always work out the way you set it up, the way you envision. Trying is better than not doing nothing at all.”

The Suns came into the season championship contenders, started 8-1, but have fallen to 12^th in the West under Mike Budenholzer, their third coach in three years with Ishbia as owner.

Ishbia bought the Suns and Mercury from Robert Sarver for a record $4 billion during the 2022-23 season.

The recent struggles have led to Ishbia drawing criticism from some Suns fans for his roster changes and construction. Phoenix was in the 2021 finals and posted the NBA’s best mark with a franchise-best 64 wins the following season.

Devin Booker is the only Suns player remaining from the finals team, but Durant is all for Ishbia’s constant push for an NBA title, something that has eluded the franchise that had its inaugural season back in 1968-69.

“I appreciate people that want to put in the work to try to get on that road to a championship level,” Durant said. “It’s hard. As we’ve seen, it’s tough, but just putting yourself in a position to try to do something. A lot people don’t even try to do stuff out here to be great.

“So I can appreciate somebody like Mat and the staff and the whole organization trying to put the players in successful positions to see what it’s like to go on the road to a championship. Not a lot of franchises do that for their players.”

Ishbia and the Suns may once again pull off a major move before this season’s Feb. 6 trade deadline. Sources informed The Arizona Republic the Suns have been looking for a third team to move Bradley Beal and land Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler and have been shopping Jusuf Nurkic.

“We’ve talked as far as communication between (general manager James Jones, CEO Josh Bartelstein and Ishbia),” Nurkic said before Tuesday’s loss at Charlotte about himself and Beal. “They were completely transparent that they not looking to shop us or whatever, but also, we’re not kids. We understand that this is part of the job. There’s nothing you can do, at least in my situation.”

Beal has a no-trade clause, a power play he reiterated after coming off the bench for the first time since his fourth NBA season in 2015-16 in Monday’s win at Philadelphia.

“If so, I need to be addressed because I hold the cards,” the three-time All-Star was asked if his benching was related to NBA trade talk. “Until I’m addressed and somebody says something different, then I’ll be a Sun.”

Budenholzer said “there’s a lot of faith in the group” when addressing whether the Suns need to make a change before the trade deadline.

However, Ishbia has shown in his short time as an owner he’ll make a move in hopes of bettering the team and no matter the cost.

Booker, Durant and Beal are due to make a combined $150 million this season.

The 45-year-old CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage made an immediate owner splash when acquiring Durant right before the 2023 trade deadline in a blockbuster deal that sent Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and multiple first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets.

The eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets eliminated the Suns in the West semifinals.

The following offseason, Ishbia fired Monty Williams, traded Chris Paul in landing Beal and moved Deandre Ayton in a three-team deal that brought in Grayson Allen and Nurkic.

The Suns then acquired Royce O’Neale in another three-team deal right before the 2024 trade deadline, but Minnesota swept them in the first round of the playoffs.

In reaction, Ishbia fired Frank Vogel after only one season and hired Budenholzer, an Arizona native who like Vogel has an NBA championship as a coach.

The Suns are playing below expectations right now, but Budenholzer starting Mason Plumlee and Dunn in place of Nurkic and Beal is another example of noticeable change under Ishbia.

“It’s going to be some twists and turns in this thing, but at least you’re in here trying to figure it out,” Durant said. “Some people standing on the outside with advice and solutions, but never got in the game. So, I appreciate people who get in the game.”

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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