The Suns owner responded to the disbandment of the Big Three: admitting his mistakes and expressing confidence in Green and Dillon.

On July 19th, Beijing time, Suns owner Ishbia addressed the recent offseason moves of the team, discussing the break-up of the Big Three. After trading Durant and reaching a buyout agreement with Beal, Ishbia acknowledged that when he took over the team two years ago, he immediately began to squander draft picks and funds to build an expensive and top-heavy roster, which may have been a mistake.

“The most important thing I've learned is that from day one, there must be a clear vision and positioning, but I did not achieve that in the operations of the Phoenix Suns,” Ishbia said. “At the time, I thought, ‘Hey, let’s invest some more money. The team already has a solid foundation, and putting in more resources will only make it better,’ but that was not the case at all.”

“Everyone must reach a consensus on the goals of the Phoenix Suns, but we did not do well enough in this regard. This is my responsibility, and I am willing to take all the criticism.”

“Consensus” is a term that Ishbia and the Suns have repeatedly mentioned this summer as they made adjustments to the management team and welcomed a new head coach for the third consecutive offseason.

Ishbia stated that he and the new general manager, Bryan Gregory, are “completely aligned on the goals we want to achieve.” When asked why he is not worried about star guard Devin Booker being dissatisfied in the coming years, he again referred to “consensus.”

“Devin will be happy because we will work hard to win games, and everything we do will align with the team's vision and positioning, which he fully agrees with, as do I, the general manager, and the coach. It’s important to clarify that there has never been such a consensus before, from the owner to the general manager, coach, and star/core players. But now there is, and it’s very clear.”

Ishbia indicated that the Suns are now committed to building the team “the right way” for the long term, with the primary goal this summer being to bring in “younger, more promising” talent while creating greater salary cap flexibility for the future.

Here are some other important remarks from Ishbia:

On parting ways with Beal:

“He’s a great guy. He just isn’t suited for the future of the Suns. We told him this. It was our decision. We made it clear that we want to move forward without him. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad person or a bad player... He’s an excellent player, but he’s not the right fit for Phoenix and what we’re trying to do, and we have to move on and make these decisions.”

On why the Suns hired Otter as head coach:

“We needed to find a coach who looks to the future rather than the past. Not limited to methods effective in 2020, but strategies that are feasible for 2030. Jordan Otter has an incredible basketball mind. Everyone we’ve talked to, every reference, has praised him highly, and so far, we’re very pleased with him. He’s young and will grow with the team, and we hope he can become an excellent coach for the Suns’ future.”

On 10th overall pick Kaman Maruachi:

“We’re very excited about Maruachi. However, he’s only 18, and people have somewhat unrealistic expectations for him. He’s just 18; I have a 14-year-old son, and he’s only four years older than my son. He’s still a kid and needs to grow. It will take some time, but we greatly appreciate his potential and believe he can become a truly impactful player.”

On the return from the blockbuster trade for Durant:

“To be clear, we want Jalen Green. We like Jalen. He’s 23 years old and the leading scorer for the second seed in the West. Then there’s Dillon Brooks, who is a tough guy. He’s exactly the type of player we want in Phoenix. If he’s not on your team, you might not like him, but I’ll tell you... he will defend the best players on the opposing team. He pairs excellently with Booker. Putting him with Booker, along with Green, gives us a lot of confidence.”