Professional basketball is coming to the Breslin Center
Professional basketball is coming to the Breslin Center.
It was announced on Wednesday that the Detroit Pistons and Phoenix Suns will play an NBA preseason game at the Breslin Center on October 8. The game will be held at the Breslin Center in relation to the Suns owner Mat Ishbia who played for Tom Izzo in the early 2000s.
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Tyson Walker will reportedly join Phoenix Suns’ NBA summer league team
According to a report from Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress, former MSU basketball guard Tyson Walker will be joining the Phoenix Suns’ NBA summer league team.
The Suns are owned by another Spartan, Mat Ishbia, and now he will give an opportunity to a great Michigan State player.
Summer league should be a good place for Walker to showcase his particular skills (he will score a lot of points) and could help him land a two-way deal. Walker’s size is working against him, but he was one of the best pure scorers in college last year.
Michigan State’s Tyson Walker has agreed to join the Phoenix Suns for NBA Summer League, I’m told.
18.4 PTS, 2.9 REB, 2.8 AST, 1.9 STL en route to 2nd Team All-B1G honors.
Dynamic 6’0 ½" initiator w/ a shifty handle and deadly pull-up game — tactician punishing drop coverages.
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Suns owner Mat Ishbia is in denial if he thinks he has power over Kevin Durant.
There is a tried and true adage about the NBA over the last decade. If Kevin Durant wants to be on a new team, he will be on a new team.
Someone should pass along this memo to Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia.
Amid rumors that the Houston Rockets are interested in trading for Durant around the 2024 NBA Draft, Ishbia decided to quell these concerns in public. He posted a milquetoast, naive screed to his Twitter account about how Phoenix fans should effectively ignore the noise from the media and still focus on Durant, who he assured will be a key piece of a championship-contending Suns team.
Man, Ishbia doesn’t understand who he’s dealing with, does he?
NBA Draft night is the best. Everyone talking about the drama and storylines, some are right and some are just wrong. My turn. Phoenix loves Kevin Durant and Kevin Durant loves Phoenix, and we are competing for a championship this year because we have the team to do it. Gotta…
I’ll spell this out for Ishbia in the plainest terms.
Durant will be 36 by the time the next NBA season starts. The Suns have been his third team since the start of the decade. To no avail, he’s tried to recreate the title-winning magic of the late 2010s Golden State Warriors (something that will never happen again).
As it stands, the Suns have a top-heavy roster and are much more liable to screw up their offseason and reload a way-too-flawed team rather than blow it up. Why would Durant want to waste one of the last few years of his legendary NBA career in this tenuous situation? What, from his past, has given anyone in the Phoenix front office any comfort or indication that he won’t start forcing his hand the moment the Suns really go bottom up?
If Durant wants out, this remains a player’s league. There will be nothing Ishbia can do to stop the greatest mercenary in NBA history from deciding where his next chapter will be. Durant has all the leverage.
Good morning, Winners! Happy Friday! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you for rocking with us this morning. We appreciate you.
There are some bad team owners in the NBA. James Dolan, Ted Leonsis, Tilman Fertitta. I could go on and on and on. The jury was out on the Suns’ new owner, Mat Ishbia. But I think the case just closed with the Suns firing Frank Vogel after one single season as the team’s head coach.
News of Vogel getting fired broke on Thursday through a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. I couldn’t call it shocking, really. Somebody’s head had to roll after the Suns’ disappointing season and, well, it certainly wasn’t going to be the team owner’s. But in reality, that’s who’s at fault here.
This Suns team stinks because Mat Ishbia couldn’t just relive his glory days at Michigan State by playing in some random rec league around his way like any other washed-up college athlete would. Nope. He’s too rich for that. Instead, he chose to buy an NBA team and run it into the ground.
See why I keep telling y’all billionaires are dangerous? No one man should have all that power.
Ishbia makes every important decision for this team at this point. The Kevin Durant trade? His doing. The Bradley Beal trade? His choice. He made those moves without even knowing what the second luxury tax apron was.
Charles Barkley was absolutely right. Vogel’s failure here isn’t because he’s an incompetent coach, but instead because his roster stinks. Now, the Suns are locked in with no clear pathway to improvement because the owner made rash decisions without thinking of the consequences.
If they don’t get it done next season, James Jones will probably be next. Mike Budenholzer is reportedly being hired as the new coach. If the team fails again after that? He’d better watch out.
Look, I’m grateful that Ishbia bought the team from Robert Sarver who absolutely needed to go. The NBA is a better league without that man in it. There’s no debating that. I’d take Ishbia over him 12 times out of 10.
But this speedrun to becoming the most incompetent owner in the league has been quite the ride. For Suns fan’s sake, I hope he turns it around soon. I can’t imagine going from being in the NBA Finals a few years ago to this.
The WNBA is expanding north
Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
WNBA expansion is coming, folks. The WNBA is reportedly heading to Toronto in 2026, according to reporting from Shireen Ahmed of CBC Sports.
According to the report, Larry Tanenbaum’s Kilmer Sports Inc. has been granted an expansion franchise with the WNBA. The league will make an official announcement on the team on May 23.
The fans are locked in already. Last year’s WNBA Canada game was a success, per Meg:
“Finally, something else to consider is that fans are also interested in having a team in Toronto. In May 2023, the city held an exhibition game between the Minnesota Lynx and Chicago Sky at Scotiabank Arena. It was the highest-attended preseason game in WNBA history and touted excellent merchandise sales.”
The NFL is coming to yet another streaming service near you. The league already has a lock on Amazon with Thursday Night Football. Now, it might be heading to Netflix for Christmas.
“While this isn’t a done deal just yet, Netflix getting into business with the NFL in this capacity could open up the possibility for even more games to be streamed on the platform in the future.
If you’re not a Netflix subscriber, it sure sounds like you might have to get an account for Christmas this year to catch the two games the league will schedule on the holiday.”
Sigh. Yet another streaming service you’ll have to pay for to watch your favorite teams in sports.
Streaming was fun once upon a time, but I think it’s safe to say we’ve officially jumped the shark. Everyone has a deal with everyone. We all have to pay for multiple services that carry everything we want to watch, including our favorite sports now.
Honestly, at this point? Let’s just go back to cable.
Photo Friday: Indy already loves Caitlin Clark
Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports
Caitlin Clark is going to be juuust fine in Indiana.
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It’s the list of amenities that will really make the place unique.
New Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury owner Mat Ishbia announced plans for a state-of-the-art campus for his two pro basketball teams with 24-7 access for players and coaches to two practice courts with 10 baskets.
It’s the list of amenities, though, that will really make the place unique.
There will be expansive locker rooms with state-of-the-art technology, a dedicated chef and kitchen, film, fitness and massage rooms with hydrotherapy including hot and cold pools and underwater treadmills and a player and family lounge.
The business areas for the front office staff will include indoor and outdoor basketball courts, an indoor arcade, a pickleball court, a workout facility, a kitchen filled with complimentary beverages and snacks, and yes, a putting green.
The expected cost of the entire project: $100 million. Ishbia, who made his riches as CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, will foot the bill.
The plan is to have this new campus, to be located three blocks from the team’s home arena in downtown Phoenix, up and running by next spring.
Before Game 5 between the Nuggets and Suns, Jokic and Ishbia buried the hatchet as the Denver player playfully gave the new Phoenix owner a basketball and a quick embrace as he was walking off the court.
In what could’ve been an annoyingly drawn-out confrontation, kudos to Jokic and Ishbia for being adults and putting this situation behind them.
It’s a breath of fresh air in this day and age for people to just handle their business like professionals, and it’s much appreciated for all the folks at home who just want to watch the game without any unnecessary drama.
Ishbia says ‘suspending or finding anyone due to the incident ‘would not be right’ and he is correct.
In what was a bizarre moment, Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia and Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic briefly became entangled during Game 4.
Phoenix wing Josh Okogie wound up in the stands while diving for a loose ball. Ishbia, who purchased the Suns for $4 billion earlier this year, somehow ended up with the ball in his hands while sitting courtside in Phoenix.
Jokic attempted to secure the ball to try to gain a 5-4 advantage from the side out of bounds as Okogie was still on the floor. Ishbia, however, would not let go of the ball and interrupted the flow of the game.
But as my colleague Charles Curtis wrote earlier today, that would be a mistake. Ishbia, who would potentially have the most to gain from a potential suspension for Jokic, agreed.
Great win for the Suns last night in an amazing series so far! That should be and is the only story. Suspending or fining anyone over last nights incident would not be right. I have alot of respect for Jokic and don’t want to see anything like that. Excited for game 5! Go Suns!
Ishbia tweeted that “suspending or fining anyone” due to the incident “would not be right” because he has so much respect for Jokic.
Hopefully, the league office considers Ishbia’s comments when weighing the potential for discipline for Jokic. It would be a tremendous mistake to keep the two-time MVP off the court during such a pivotal moment in the series.
This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. Here’s Charles Curtis.
This one is simple, NBA.
You can’t suspend Nikola Jokic for what was the weirdest of incidents on Sunday during the Denver Nuggets’ Game 4 win over the Phoenix Suns.
Let’s review: As the basketball went into the hands of new Suns owner Mat Ishbia, Jokic came right over to grab it and start up an inbounds play, with the possibility that the Nuggets could have had a 5-on-4 advantage with Suns guard Josh Okogie on the ground. Ishbia didn’t give up the rock, caught a forearm from Jokic and appeared to flop.
Jokic and head coach Mike Malone later referred to Ishbia as a “fan,” not caring that he was an owner. The case they made was simple: if he’s sitting courtside, he’s a fan like everyone else and holding on to the ball like that was not OK.
The NBA could interpret its own rules about players or anyone else entering the stands as suspension-worthy, unless the league feels that Jokic was still in the area of the court for this one.
But I’m here to say, either way, nope. Fines? Yes, for both Ishbia and Jokic. Ishbia shouldn’t have held the ball and Jokic should have held off when the ball wasn’t given up initially.
The fact that Ishbia is an NBA owner? It’s pertinent. How bad would the league look for taking the Nuggets best player, a two-time NBA MVP and the biggest X-factor in the series, out for a pivotal Game 5 when an owner was involved here? So bad. Suspending both of them isn’t equivalent when it’s Jokic’s absence that could swing the series.
Let’s move on here.
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This could be interpreted as a suspension for Jokic.
Here are the facts as we know them about the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns incident involving Nikola Jokic and Suns owner Mat Ishbia: The latter held on to the basketball that Jokic thought he could grab and use immediately with Josh Okogie stuck on the floor for a 5-on-4.
Ishbia didn’t give up the ball and appeared to flop as Jokic caught him with a little nudge of his forearm. But the point here is that Jokic made contact with someone — an NBA owner, although the Nuggets keep referring to Ishbia as a fan, which is the case they appear to be making here — sitting by the court.
Could Jokic be suspended here? There’s an NBA rule about ejections that’s noteworthy. Rule 12, Section V (all about “conduct), which says if anyone “deliberately [enters] the stands other than as a continuance of play,” they “must” be ejected. Note that Jokic got a technical foul and not an ejection but that may not matter here:
TNT broadcasters just asked: Will Nikola Jokic be suspended for Game 5?
Team execs are wondering this too since the rule book says a player should be ejected for entering the stands. Jokic technically just went courtside so there’s room for interpretation. We’ll find out Monday. pic.twitter.com/8jBYdKgSOy
So: Did Jokic technically go into the stands here? Some think so, others don’t:
Jokic should obviously be suspended for Game 5. He went into the stands and made contact with a fan (owner). Easy decision.
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) May 8, 2023
Perhaps watch again all you Jokic defenders. The ball was dead and in the stands. At that point the REF inbounds the ball. He has no business being in the stands and it’s VERY CLEAR he’s off the court. He should be suspended https://t.co/r06U0UhBmg
But don’t go telling the Nuggets that the scrum that including Ishbia — a former Michigan State hoops star — flopping involved an owner. Because, at the heart of it, they want to push it toward the fact that Ishbia, sitting in the seats, was a “fan” at that moment who was holding on to a basketball that Jokic thought could be used to play on right away.
Let’s start with what Jokic said postgame to reporters after the Nuggets’ win:
Nikola Jokic on the incident with the Suns owner:
"He told me I was elbowing the fan, but the fan put his hands on me first. I thought the league is supposed to protect us. But maybe I'm wrong.”
And when a reporter noted Ishbia is an NBA owner? He replied, “Sitting on the court, then he’s a fan, isn’t he?”
So there’s that. The same went for head coach Mike Malone (WARNING: NSFW language below):
Mike Malone: "I think it's crazy that Nikola [Jokic] got a technical foul… He's going to get the ball and some fan is holding onto the ball like he wants to be apart of the game."
