Mat Ishbia introduced as new owner of the Phoenix Suns, Mercury franchises
The Mat Ishbia era for the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury officially has begun.
His inaugural press conference at the Footprint Center on Wednesday was held after the NBA Board of Governors approved the $4 billion sale of the Suns to the Ishbia, CEO of Michigan-based United Wholesale Mortgages, two days prior.
Ishbia, 43, replaces Robert Sarver as majority owner of both franchises.
Sarver chose to sell the teams last September, shortly after he was suspended for one year and fined $10 million by the NBA following the league's investigation into exgtensive allegations of workplace misconduct against him.
Ishbia set a fresh tone right away.
"I look at is as a community asset. I'm not the owner of the Suns and the Mercury. I'm the steward of it. My job is to do great things for the community," he said. "I'm extremely excited about it. It's not Mat Ishbia, it's the team, and everyone who's ever been successful knows it's a team game. Basketball's a team game, all sports a team game, but life is a team game."
Wednesday's press conference in the arena's lobby was attended by local and national media, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, the teams' employees and executives, Ishbia's wife and three children, his ex-wife, his older brother and the teams' new alternate NBA governor, his brother Justin Ishbia, along with Ishbia's parents.
Also on hand were former Suns players such Mark West, Cedric Ceballos, and Ring of Honor members Kevin Johnson, Alvan Adams, Tom Chambers and Dan Majerle, as well as Hall of Famer and broadcaster for both teams, Ann Meyers Drysdale.
Ishbia thanked NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the league's Board of Governors, which is made up of team owners or their representatives, along with employees of both organizations and the Phoenix community as a whole.
As he preferred to stand away from the podium and work the crowd like a motivational speaker, Ishbia wasted no time addressing the direction of the two franchises.
He cited four areas of focus: a positive team member (his term for employees) experience, a great fan experience, community impact and winning culture.
"We can't win every year, but I promise you we're going to try,'' he said. "You can't win without happy people."
Ishbia added, "In my (mortgage) business, I've never focused on money. We've focused on doing those four things, success is the key. Money always is a follower."
He added he didn't intend major changes immediately, but will take several months to listen and learn. He said the Suns have great basketball people in place already, citing general manager James Jones.
Ishbia said he fulfilled his dream by becoming an NBA owner. He joked about accepting his business career path after it was clear he couldn't make it in the NBA, after being a former high school basketball star in his home state of Michigan and then a Michigan State walk-on. During his time on the team, the Spartans went to three straight Final Fours between 1999 and 2001, including their sole NCAA title won in 2000 under his basketball mentor, Tom Izzo.
"My life has been completely tied to basketball," Ishbia said. "I know you heard I played basketball at Michigan State. That's an overstatement. I sat on the bench at Michigan State and it was a good experience (crowd laughs)."
Ishbia brought his brother Justin to the stage to address the audience. As the Suns and Mercury alternate governor, Justin is their second largest shareholder doubling as the CEO and founder of Shore Capital Partners.
Justin discussed his childhood memories playing one-on-one against Mat as they imitated their respective idols Larry Bird and Michigan State alum Magic Johnson, in their at their family's backyard, and Mat's working on his skills to chase his hoop dreams.
"Many years later, we're honored to able to bring our family to your community and be part of it for many years going forward," Ishbia said. "We believe in a lot of fun. Mat and I are fans. We are fans in our heart, we want to win and have a great community impact. We're excited to combine family and fun and win together. That's what the Ishbia families stand for."
Read more: New Suns owner Mat Ishbia 'unshakeable,' say UMW employees
Thomas was accused of sexual harrassment while coach of the Knicks in 2007 by Anucha Browne Sanders. A jury awarded her $11.6 million in punitive damages from Madison Square Garden and James L. Dolan after finding she was harrassed and wrongly fired after reporting it.
There was a moment of controversy, when Mat Ishbia addressed a media question about reports Hall of Famer and Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas would have a prominent role in the Suns organization. Ishbia said there is no hiring happening the moment, adding that Thomas is a close friend but he will have no role with the franchises at this time. Asked for further clarification, Ishbia said no major hiring decisions are planned yet.
Ishbia plans to remain living in Michigan with his family and for his UWM company while traveling to Phoenix to work for both teams.
Ishbia wouldn't specify his involvement about decisions made for the Suns as the league's Thursday trade deadline looms. The Suns are widley expected to finally make a deal involving Jae Crowder, who has sat out the entire season but remains on the team roster.
He also talked The Republic about what he learned from Izzo in evaluating basketball talent and how he'll apply that to the Suns.
"We got (executive vice president of finance and administration) Jim Pitman and (Suns general manager James Jones) on the sports side," Ishbia said. "They got a lot of talent of their teams, and we got scouts and got great people from a basketball player perspective. But the things that I look at and value that are a little different than what other people look at are is leadership, culture, amazing work ethic and amazing attitude."
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mat Ishbia introduced as new owner of the Phoenix Suns, Mercury franchises
