Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia's aggressiveness in his first four months as majority owner has seemingly pushed the franchise closer toward its first-ever championship.
In a radio appearance with Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Tuesday, which was the same day the Suns introduced coach Frank Vogel, Ishbia reaffirmed from his own introductory press conference money will not stop Phoenix from its pursuit of a title.
“We’re going to be successful,” Ishbia told “The Burns and Gambo Show” with Dave Burns and John Gambadoro. “We’re going to focus on winning and being successful.”
After the Suns hired Vogel on a reported five-year, $31 million deal, they reportedly made their associate head coach under Monty Williams, Kevin Young, the NBA's highest-paid assistant at $2 million per year.
Phoenix then hired former NBA head coach David Fizdale as an assistant for Vogel's staff. He will make between $1.3 and $1.5 million, according to Gambadoro, which is reported to be three times his salary he made as associate general manager for the Utah Jazz.
Ishbia, who helped orchestrate the Suns' trade for Kevin Durant and inked a deal with local TV channels “CBS5” and “3TV” for a new media rights deal that should expand local viewership, has insisted money will follow team success.
“We’re not stopping because of contracts or dollar amounts,” Ishbia said. “And so to get the best team available, you need to have the best coaches, the best training staff, the best massage therapists. The best, whatever it may be, on the staff, like every aspect, the best security people, every aspect of the organization. And I talked about it in my press conference when I bought the team, money follows success.
“We’re going to put an All-Star cast around and do our best to win a championship. And that’s how we want to compete.”
The Suns made one step toward what they hope will be a championship with their hiring of Vogel. They have Durant and superstar guard under contract through the next three seasons (Booker is inked through 2027-28) and have to build a roster around those players.
Ishbia's demeanor is much different than previous owner Robert Sarver, who notably was reluctant to spend top dollar to keep key Suns players when they had a championship window in the mid-to-late 2000s.