Only one owner abstained from voting for Matt Ishbia's approval to buy the Phoenix Suns in February, and that person was Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. Turns out that Ishbia and Gilbert are not on the best of terms, and Ishbia explained that is is due to having competing mortgage lender companies in Michigan to Bill Simmons of The Ringer, according to Tyler Greenawalt of Yahoo! Sports.
“I could go talk for hours on it or I could take for a minute and the minute is probably easier: He doesn't like me and I don't like him,” Ishbia said, via Greenawalt. ” I don't like the way they do business in a lot of things. He probably doesn't like the way we do things. We're in the same town. We compete. We're winning. That's what it is right now.”
Matt Ishbia said that Dan Gilbert abstaining to vote did not surprise him.
“I knew without a question that that'd probably be how he handled [the ownership vote],” Ishbia said, via Greenawalt. “And the best part is now you get to see who I see. Very simply. Now you see who I see and what I know about that man.”
Ishbia acknowledged that Gilbert is not doing well health wise, and wishes him well in that regard.
“I know he's not doing [well] health-wise, I wish him nothing but the best,” Ishbia said, via Greenawalt. “But the reality is in the mortgage business and now on the basketball floor, whatever it is, I'm trying to win at everything I do. And that's what we're going to be. And if someone's done things the wrong way, which he's done, I'm going to call them out on it and that's what I've done.”
Gilbert's Cavaliers were eliminated by the New York Knicks in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Ishbia's Suns are still in, but trail the Denver Nuggets 2-0 in the second round NBA Playoffs series. Ishbia's first big move as owner was trading for Kevin Durant. He hopes that Kevin Durant can lead the Suns to an NBA title.
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