The 2024-25 season is officially over for the Phoenix Suns, and there’s nothing else to call it but an utter failure. They fired their head coach, Mike Budenholzer, after winning just 36 games, and the franchise’s majority owner, Mat Ishbia, had no choice but to own up to the mistake in his latest chat with the media.
“Embarrassing season. Awful,” said Ishbia, via Cameron Cox. “It was a failure. We have to do stuff differently. I’m disappointed. It was not fun to watch our team. I’m here for it, and I’m here to be accountable. It was not fun to watch our team this season. What we’ve tried has not been successful. We thought it would work, and it didn’t work. I have to do a better job on the identity of the Phoenix Suns. I will do a better job as an owner. You guys will feel the change. It will be undeniable. You will be proud of this team (again). Fans deserve better.”
It’s hard to pinpoint one area of blame for the Suns’ disastrous campaign, but Mike Budenholzer was the scapegoat for obvious reasons. He won a championship with the Bucks in 2021 but was fired after losing to the eighth seed. He was never a good fit in Phoenix, and it became obvious after he clashed with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.
“We’ve got to get the next hire right, and we will. The team and the roster that was constructed by James, Josh, the scouts, and the front office is much better than a 36-win roster,” said Ishbia. “So there are a lot of reasons why Coach Bud is not here, and I’m not going to get to all those reasons, but I believe we should have won a lot more games and been a lot more competitive during those games. I wish him the best, but he was the wrong coach for our organization and for that team. At the end of the day, you can blame me for it because I’m the owner at the end of the day.”
The Phoenix Suns were in the Finals a few years ago, but they didn’t even qualify for the play-in after finishing 11th in the West. Despite the struggles, however, Ishibia still believes his team will win multiple titles in the not-too-distant future.
“I promise you we will,” said Ishbia. “I promise you we will win championships, with an S at the end… I have to do a better job of setting an identity for this franchise. You will enjoy watching this team much more next year.”
Ishbia purchased the Suns (and the Phoenix Mercury) back in February of 2023 for $4 billion. Since he took control, Ishbia has been operating with a complete win-now mentality that has gotten mixed reviews from the fans. In his first few months on the job, he went all-out for Kevin Durant and then brought in Bradley Beal to form a new “big three.”
In return, the Suns gave up all tradeable assets, from future draft picks to young budding stars such as Mikal Bridges and DeAndre Ayton. The Suns sacrificed their depth and entire basketball future to build their current roster, but the results have been ugly so far.
Since Durant’s arrival, the Suns have only made it out of the first round once, and they have a losing record in the regular season. No matter what happens with his contract this summer, look for the Suns to remake their identity and rally behind a new voice in the locker room. Ishbia has gone too far to go back now, and he’s as committed as ever to winning a championship as soon as he can.
