PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns reached a historic number with their roster heading into this season, becoming the first team in NBA history to have a payroll of over $400 million.

Safe to say, owner Mat Ishbia and the Suns’ aggressive spending did not work out, as they are currently the 11th seed in the Western Conference with a 26-29 record.

CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn ranked the Suns’ front office 28th of 30 among all NBA teams with only the Sacramento Kings (29th) and Chicago Bulls (30th) below them.

Quinn wrote the following when discussing the Suns’ placement:

“No organization in the NBA operates with less foresight than the Suns. That’s true in a macro sense, obviously. ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz wrote a lengthy feature about how little stock general manager James Jones puts into the draft. But it’s evident on a micro level as well. They are the impulse shoppers of the NBA.

“They went after Bradley Beal as a pure talent play, but didn’t stop to think that maybe uniting three players on max contracts that do not generate consistent rim pressure might yield diminishing offensive returns and hamstring their ability to field a decent defense.

“They traded one very valuable unprotected 2031 first-round pick to the Jazz for three very weak picks. At the time, it seemed as though the move was a precursor to a Jimmy Butler trade. It turned out, however, they had no follow-up move lined up. They just sacrificed a very valuable asset for… the theoretical flexibility to trade three worse assets separately? They didn’t even think to keep Kevin Durant informed when they discussed trading him at this deadline. That is a very basic star relationship fumble.

“It doesn’t seem as though decisions are made with a three-year plan in mind, or even a three-month plan for that matter. One minute they’re aiming for a big three of Durant, Devin Booker and Jimmy Butler. The next, they’re prepared to give up Durant, the best player in that trio, to secure Butler?

“They’re currently on their third coach in three years with no signs of improvement. They control none of their own picks between now and 2031. Ryan Dunn is the only notable young player on the roster, but they somehow managed to give up Toumani Camara, who would eventually grow into the perfect young role player for this roster, as a throw-in when they shipped Deandre Ayton to Portland. It’s one thing to ruin your future by going all-in on the present.

“It’s another to botch the present by going all-in on the present. The Suns have done so, and that inspires little trust in their leadership moving forward.”

Ishbia has shown a lot of willingness to try to make the best team since taking over as owner in 2022, but his strategy clearly has not worked.

Former Suns owner Jerry Colangelo told Arizona Sports that Ishbia is going through a learning curve:

“I think maybe when he first bought the team he wanted to make a little splash, which was kind of customary when people take over an organization. In retrospect, he maybe would have done the same thing, maybe not. Again, he has to learn, sometimes the hard way.

“I believe in him in terms of the long-term future of the franchise because he’s committed.”

There are a lot of questions and very few answers about the current and future state of the Suns. How Ishbia and the front office respond in this offseason will be a very telling sign.