Suns Owner: Change is Needed

For the first time since 2020 the Phoenix Suns are not a participant in the NBA playoffs - that fact has become apparent in the Valley in recent days.

The first sign of collateral damage from a 36-46 season was the dismissal of first-year head coach Mike Budenholzer on Monday - which appears to be the first of many massive moves to be made by the franchise.

Suns governor Mat Ishbia was a guest on Arizona Sports' "Burns and Gambo" show at the five o'clock hour on Thursday afternoon to discuss the end-of-season media availability that was held earlier in the day.

Ishbia took to a wide array of topics - including elaborating as to why the experiment based around a top-heavy roster hasn't worked over the last two seasons and discussing if the termination of Budenholzer's position was considered before the end of the season.

Ishbia took accountability for some ill-fated decisions that didn't age well while also defending the process behind each move, and simply said this team did not "come to fruition" - general manager James Jones echoed similar sentiments at the press conference when the decision maker revealed that the front office decided that the team wasn't going to work around the turn of the new year.

The steward of the franchise also spoke on Bradley Beal with some eye-opening words on the second-year Sun.

“People talk about no-trade clause, that’s way overhyped all those conversations. The truth is, we have to find people who are bought in and aligned with us. If they’re not bought in and aligned in what we believe in, they will not be on our team," Ishbia said.

Ishbia is making some not-so-thinly veiled comments on the future of Beal - the guard could very well be the subject of a buyout over the summer if a trade is not reached.

The report that broke earlier in the week from Chris Haynes and John Gambadoro that the former scoring champion clashed with Budenholzer could be the subject of the "bought in" quip - it doesn't appear that the two sides are keen to work out differences to continue the partnership.

The Suns will have an opportunity to rectify some of these errors in the upcoming months - the first piece of the puzzle appears to be any potential reshuffling of the front office and finding a new head coach that will better fit the vision the franchise is looking to shift towards.