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Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury owner Mat Ishbia is taking a more hands-on approach with both franchises, stressing the importance of building trust through consistent actions. In a recent interview with Espo of Southwest Bias, Ishbia explained why he believes fans should have confidence in the direction of both teams under his leadership.
Referencing a quote from his book Running the Corporate Offense — “Trust is earned through your actions – by what you say or do on a daily basis” — Ishbia detailed how he has applied that philosophy since acquiring the Suns and Mercury.
“The Mercury and the Suns, it’s all being done the same way now,” Ishbia said. “At the beginning with the Suns, obviously we had a good team and let’s put a little money behind them – let them make decisions and go forward. It didn’t work very well. With the Mercury they were already at the bottom of the league at 9-31, so at that point… the only [press conference] I’ve gotten beat up on was when I hired Nate Tibbetts and Nick Uren. People thought that was bad hires and those are the two best hires we’ve had now looking back two years later with how good these teams are.”
Ishbia acknowledged that popular moves — such as the trades for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal — ultimately failed to deliver. He emphasized that his focus is on long-term consistency, building teams the city can be proud of even in years without a championship.
Why should fans trust the Suns and Mat Ishbia?
I asked the man himself directly. pic.twitter.com/hJCdecYlaI
— Espo (@Espo) August 15, 2025
Mat Ishbia vows Suns will be more competitive as Mercury continue steady climb
“What you’re going to see by my actions and our actions in Phoenix for the men’s and women’s teams is consistency and running it the right way,” Ishbia said. “The right way means the type of players that we want the city to be proud of. We could have the team for 50 years… we’re not going to win a championship for probably 47 or 48 of those years, but you are going to be proud of the team.”
Looking back on last season, Ishbia said the Suns’ 36–46 record and 11th-place finish in the Western Conference was not acceptable.
“Last year the men’s team was not a team that people were proud of,” Ishbia said. “It was a team that was not fun to watch – a lot of talent, not a lot of fun to watch, not a lot of success. You’re not going to see that anymore in Phoenix.”
He pointed to the Mercury’s progression over the past two seasons as an example of steady improvement. After a difficult first year, the team reached the playoffs last season and is currently 19–12, sitting fourth in the WNBA standings and second in the Western Conference behind the Minnesota Lynx.
The Suns are entering the 2025–26 season with a new direction under first-year head coach Jordan Ott. The team extended star guard Devin Booker, traded Durant to the Houston Rockets, and reached a buyout agreement with Beal, who later signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Mat Ishbia reiterated that his goal is to earn trust through visible, sustained progress. “The workouts they’re doing, they’re getting better every single day… the whole city of Phoenix will understand that and trust me and our organization by our actions,” he said.
