“Biggest Embarrassment”: NBA Legend Gives Reality Check to Mat Ishbia After Controversial Bradley Beal Decision

“You can’t buy a championship.” Bad contracts, haphazard trades, and a lack of team chemistry has slowly killed off Phoenix basketball. When Mat Ishbia took over as the majority owner in 2022, one of his first moves was to bring Kevin Durant into the side, pushing his Suns into immediate contention. Looking at the move now, after a couple of years and a lot more context, this move might’ve invited more trouble than what it’s worth for Ishbia and the Phoenix Suns.

This past year has been a nightmare for the franchise. Bradley Beal’s contract terrorized the Suns for most of the season, before the team finally agreed to an $82M buyout. However, the damage was already done. Phoenix, once touted as championship contenders with a solid big three, ended up paying over $152 million in luxury tax, missed the playoffs, and parted with their biggest star. What’d they get back? Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and a lawsuit from the minority owners.

On the Road Trippin’ podcast, hosts Richard Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins, Channing Frye and Allie Clifton discussed the drama surrounding the Suns right now. Perkins, as always, had a damning reality check to dole out. “One could say that the Phoenix Suns have been the biggest embarrassment in the NBA over the last three to four years.” He said, addressing Mat Ishbia’s blunders. Half a decade ago, Phoenix was in a really nice space. “NBA Finals, culture, Monty Williams, CP3.” As Perks put it. However, getting hit with a Giannis 50-piece in the 2021 Finals led to a lot of bad decisions in the coming years.

Trading DeAndre Ayton was the first thing on the list. The six-foot-eleven wing was averaging an efficient 18-point double-double the last time he was in a Suns jersey, but Ishbia preferred to bring in more depth and sacrificed the former first-overall pick to do it. And then there was the KD trade, in which the Suns gave up Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, 5 firsts, and 2 seconds to get the Slim Reaper on their team. It took Perks just one question to dismantle the entire decision. “Where’s KD at now?” 

But it’s not just about Kevin Durant, and it’s not just about trading away the former first-overall pick. The franchise hasn’t made good decisions under Ishbia’s reign. “And then all of a sudden, you acquire Bradley Beal who’s making a whole lot of f–ing money with no trade clause. You bring him in. You run through two championship coaches. Two.” He said, discussing the plethora of problems within the organization.

It has gotten so bad for Phoenix that they had to blow up their team all over again. The KD trade wasn’t just a trade, it was a message—the Suns are going into a rebuild and starting afresh. However, even after all of the young talent that they acquired, it’s still not looking good for them, according to ESPN. Let’s find out what’s in store for Phoenix in the 2026 season!

Mat Ishbia’s decisions rear ugly head as ESPN gives a damning prediction for the Phoenix Suns

It took seven teams to figure out a feasible way to get Kevin Durant out of Phoenix. The Rockets, Suns, Nets, Warriors, Hawks, Lakers, and Wolves banded together to pull it off, and a lot of young talent went to Arizona. However, even with Khaman Maluach, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Rasheer Fleming, and Kobe Brea, the Suns team still isn’t looking solid enough to break into the play-in next year.

On one hand, that’s to be expected considering that they blew up their roster for young pieces. We’ve seen it done a million times, and honestly? A rebuild takes a while to get going. But here’s an important thing to remember: They still have DBook on the roster. Phoenix has a top 10 player in the league, as well as a few emerging stars that can provide a lot of oomph to their rotation.

But ESPN knows better; the analysts there have seen it all done before. In the newest NBA Summer Forecast for the 2025-2026 season, the broadcasting company had a damning prediction for Ishbia’s Suns. According to the forecast, the Phoenix Suns are supposed to finish as part of the bottom 5 teams in the Western Conference. Moreover, ESPN analyst Zack Kram had a beautifully tragic statement to make about the franchise. “No team has mortgaged more of its future for less in the present than Phoenix.” 

It’s clear that the vision behind Phoenix’s moves wasn’t flawed, but the execution definitely was. The franchise haphazardly blew up their core after the 2021 Finals loss, and even though bringing KD in is never a bad idea, the Suns just couldn’t make the best of it. Only time will tell how long it will take for the Phoenix Suns to recover from this awful stretch in their team’s history.