The owner of the Suns, Mat Ishbia. Welcome back, Mat.
Brother. Appreciate you, dude. Yeah, absolutely.
All right, buddy. Good to see you.
See, I didn't know if we were going to handshake there.
Yeah. Cuz he's a business man. Good to go last. I got to see what everyone else does. But ball player at heart, you know.
Yeah, that's right. Yeah. How are you, dude?
Doing great, man. Doing great. You?
Got to wipe that off your face a little bit. It's on your chin.
Now it's on your nose. There it is. Boom.
Hey, trying not to do as much media. Trying to stay out of the tabloids. Trying to stay out of the headlines. But I'll tell you what, in your performance in that NBA All-Star game, celebrity All-Star game, you got us through. We were off, obviously. So we were just trying to find things to pass the time. The Olympics helped us. You in that All-Star game, bopping wood, okay, applying full pressure, and then having a shot over 7'7" Talko while you're fading away.
Unbelievable performance out of you. I just need you to know that. How long did you know you were going to play in that? And I know you played at Michigan State. I know you were on Michigan State. Is Tom Izzo still coaching you up for that All-Star game performance right there?
Oh man, yeah. I had a great time. Yeah, I knew for a couple months, but I knew if I didn't play the right way, Coach Izzo would be calling me. I'm still scared of that phone call, so I had a great time, competed, had some fun, made a shot or two, had a fun time.
I think a lot of people found out though that you're a basketball guy. So obviously we know you're a basketball guy. We know that you said if I had to mop floors to be on a team, I would do that. And then obviously you're in the mortgage business with family, United Wholesale. Did you guys sell my mortgage? I think you sold my mortgage.
We might have. We might have only sell the ones that we don't think are going to pay us.
Anyways, you got a great business. I have experienced it.
It's an incredible. Yeah, this guy's giving away a lot of money.
Might be time to get out of that.
He's saying some dumb. No, but obviously in the mortgage business, we assume dream as basketball guy is to own NBA team. How has it been? Cuz obviously it's been an interesting ride. You get Kevin Durant, you get star packed team, doesn't work out. Now you got no picks, now you're back in it. All-star game feels like you won over a little bit with maybe your fans, probably Phoenix Suns fans probably pumped with where you performed. How has it been living out this dream?
It's exactly that, it's a dream. It's been the best thing ever. Obviously we went through some not great times when we got the team, but I got the women's team, the men's team, we're competing. I'm having the best time. I wasn't good enough to play in the NBA, but we will own a team is unbelievable, cuz now I'm at 46 I can still be involved, be engaged, and it's awesome, cuz you also get to deliver things to the fans. Do cool like that's like stuff we just haven't been able to do, and we can do stuff that other people don't do.
Okay, so on that note, whenever a general manager gets hired in the NFL, we say the general manager has always had a vision on what their team would look like. Then they get the job, and what the old team is, there's no allegiances, I'm trying to build this in my way. You dream of NBA team, I would assume. Were you Okay, and this I don't want this to be a rude question, but owners meddling is always like a thing. Like, hey, you're a basketball guy that played basketball. So I think we would want you to meddle potentially if you're an owner, but you guys didn't have success whenever you got over there, so people were maybe saying this guy doesn't How is that whole thing gone with your restraint maybe, or discipline, or hands-on, hands-off? Like how have you handled all that?
Yeah, well, right when you buy the team, everyone says, "Oh, don't meddle. Owners own the team, stay out of it. Let the experts do their thing." And you know, I thought, "Okay, let me give some extra money." The team was already pretty good at that time. Let's put some luxury tax, let's make Let's go Let's go for it. And didn't work. Now I kind of step back and say, "No, let's do it the right way. Let's build, let's get toughness, let's get grit, let's get dogs, let's get guys that I'm my whole life I'm all heart, no talent. I want to get heart and talent. But we went just talent, and we want guys that want to win, that want to compete every night, and like so we're building it, and we're going to build it the right way, and hopefully we're going to compete. We're doing pretty well this year, but we're going to keep getting better every day."
Okay, where you are right now, playing area, I think 7-8. Now I've done some research on this entire thing. I guess nobody in the NBA wants to be in the play-in zone right now. Is that an accurate thing? Because and you put a tweet out about it, but it's like the guys obviously at the top of the league, they want to go win it all. It's great for the franchise. We're going to go for it and also attract a lot of free agents and everything like that. And then if you're in the middle, you're not going to be a part of the lottery, so you're going to have to pick up your guys' draft is hilarious. It's like after pick eight like they had a guy who he's going to come over from Greece maybe five years from now. So, it is an interesting dynamic with how the league is, right? With where your team is. You have no picks obviously, but being in the play-in zone is not necessarily a beneficial area. Like how do you kind of talk about where the league is right now because you put a tweet out talking about how we can't be a tanking league, which it seems like you guys kind of are and if you do and you do it right, you benefit from it greatly. So, how do you kind of view it all?
It's an embarrassment. It's horrible. Like my perspective is tanking is loser mentality. Like I've never been around anyone. You show me someone that wants to lose or thinks about losing, like I'll show you a loser. That's losers. That's not my stuff. And so I don't like losing. I don't want to ever talk about losing. We try to win and best the draft works if you don't win, you don't have a good team, you get a good pick. But if you purposely trade for players and then don't play them, trying to lose games, like I think it's bad for the NBA. I think it's bad I think Adam Silver knows it. Organizations know it. It's got to change. It will change.
Okay, so Oklahoma City I think would be an example that people would say. They tanked for a while like openly, but it was small market I think so. Maybe nobody was paying attention as much, but then it ended up paying off. I mean they hit bang bang bang and they're about to be a dynasty. So, how do you kind of fix that potential thing? Do you think that's a league overall situation that has to change? The pro- Like how do you think it's fixable or is it fixable?
It's fixable. And Adam Silver to credit him, he knows it's a problem. He's going to fix it. I believe he'll fix it, but you can't have teams like when you say they're tanking, it's one thing if you trade players and you're not a good team. And I'm not sure I mean Oklahoma City, if you correct me if I'm wrong, I think they have only one player with a drafted over number nine, Chet Holmgren, on their team. Everyone else is later in the draft. And so, let's not like, you know, They built it. They did a good job. Give them some credit. It's not they have the first pick three years in a row, and that's how they became a great team. And so, I think purposely losing in anything is a loser mentality. I can't stand for it. I don't agree with it. And I think the other organizations realize it, but right now the problem is the incentives are misaligned. If you purposely lose, you get a better players in the future, you have a better chance. And that just is not how I was That's not how I was brought up.
I respect that. Now, you got a lot of teams right now trying to get down. It feels like the NBA It's almost like 20% of the league, you know, if
As you're watching, yeah, cuz the draft is so good.
But if they end up benefiting from it, then the next team the next year is like, "Well, we could potentially" It's an interesting You guys's league is fascinating. Best athletes, you know, they're 7-ft tall running around doing the entire thing. It is a spectacle. It is incredible competition at its highest level. But it does feel like there's always some drama around your guys's league. Now, on that note, it is now NBA time. Connor has a question for you.
Yeah, obviously yesterday was tough one for the Suns. I don't know if you caught that one, Governor Ishbia, but Celtics put it on you. But regardless of that, what is kind of the main thing right now when it comes to, you know, developing talent and also, you know, acquiring people? Cuz we talk about draft being important, like it feels as though the NBA as a whole, you know, with the luxury tax and acquiring players, you're almost discouraged because you go into that first second apron, and then all of a sudden, you know, you owe a ton of money. And you've said this before, fans don't want to hear owners talking about owing a bunch of money. Fans don't give a about that, which is, you know, a huge reason we like you so much, cuz you know that and that's the reality of it. But does it feel as though the setup for team building does sometimes encourage, you know, getting more draft picks and getting a better draft position versus going out and spending money?
Yeah, I mean it's a combination now. It used to be a lot more free agency. Free agency is a little bit slower these days and so it's changed with that. Draft is a big thing these days, but also player development and developing players and finding good players like on our team we've got some guys that people didn't want people didn't have. Colin Gillespie we took him on a two-way. He's a great player. Now he's a NBA starter. Like you got to develop players as well. So I think team building is definitely through the draft right now and that's why people are tanking. That's why people are doing that cuz that's they think that's the only way, but there's multiple ways to win and succeed and we're trying to prove that in Phoenix and we're working on it.
You need to bop some wood. I mean everybody out there bopping wood like you were doing. How old are you?
But we got to call it like it is. He was on Giannis's team.
Fresh off of what happened with Giannis. The entire thing.
Then he kind of gets bullied by his friend Ish.
Ish is running him out of bounds.
Yeah and then you know, it's not good. And I don't even think he broke anything big. Nobody Yeah, it was like a yogurt for lunch.
Yeah, it was not good. Next year Sean Hey Sean's, next year.
And also next year, Giannis might want to leave.
I'm joking. I'm joking. AJ has a question for you, man.
Yeah, I guess the NBA as a whole I guess where do you think it is like we've seen different eras of the NBA they say okay once Jordan and his whole generation goes no one's going to watch anymore and then Steph and LeBron and this whole you know, what do you see at the NBA as a whole like the next 5 to 10 years and who do you think are some organizations right now doing things right, winning games the right way and kind of you know, building up their team the way that you should?
Yeah, I mean I think the NBA is in great hands. Obviously there's this tanking thing we're talking about. There's always an issue as you pointed out Pat. Like there's always something, but you know what? The truth is the league is in a great place. It's a global game. People all around the world love it. They love the NBA. They love the players. We got star players from all around the world and it's going to continue to grow and develop. It's not perfect. Nothing's perfect, but we're going to keep getting it there. I feel great about where the NBA is right now even with some of those superstars you're talking about are retiring and moving on or going to be retiring. But there's a lot of great young players from overseas and Americans and it's awesome to see.
You watch every game in the NBA right now. What are the storylines that we need to pick Let's ask. Not us, obviously.
You're talking to people who have no clue what's going on in the NBA.
Not us. We've been watching football for 6 months.
Yeah, people that have just been in then on a beach a little bit watching the Olympics.
Crushing crushing NBA tape like us.
No, no, we're talking about other people.
Yeah, other people. If they didn't know what was going on in the NBA right now.
The Celtics are still great. Okay, see you.
The gorilla did the dunk. Anything What is like the
Just it's playoff time now. It's going towards the playoffs. There's teams with There's the West is really strong right now. The Celtics have been a great surprise team in the East. The Pistons are good in the East, but the West is really deep and you know, there's a lot of teams that it's really you know, people going to You don't think there's Oh, there's only one team that's going to win it. Early in the season they said OKC's dominating and they're going to be like I think there's five to eight teams that can win an NBA championship right now and you know, we're going to see what happens in the playoffs.
Okay, you got some injury issues, right? Going on?
Right now we do, but we're going to get him
Everybody does. Is that an NBA thing?
