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.
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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."
Mat Ishbia even drew the technical on Nikola Jokic with it too!
Well, this was certainly the most bizarre dust up of the 2023 NBA Playoffs so far.
On Sunday, during Game 4 of the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets second round matchup, Nikola Jokic got into a scuffle with courtside fans after the ball went out of play in the second quarter. Suns’ owner Mat Ishbia ended up with the ball, but Jokic then attempted to aggressively wrestle it away! Not only that, other fans in the stands got involved as the ball popped out after Jokic and Ishbia’s struggle over it.
Jokic ended up getting a technical foul for the incident, but all anyone was talking about afterwards was Ishbia’s… embellishment.
Credit to Ishbia here, as he certainly has the form given that he played as a walk-on point guard for Michigan State and knows his way around the court. And his embellishment of Jokic’s elbow no doubt contributed to the Denver star getting a technical when all was said and done.
Still, NBA fans did not pass up the chance to rip Ishbia for the incredible theatrics.
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Watch Mat Ishbia take the podium for the first time as the owner of the Phoenix Suns:
Mat Ishbia has joined the ranks of NBA ownership, purchasing the Phoenix Suns. The owner of United Wholesale Mortgage, and Spartan basketball alumnus, is starting his career as the head man of the Suns.
Today, Ishbia took the podium for the first time as the owner of the Suns, discussing his vision for the franchise.
You can watch the press conference via the Phoenix Suns’ Twitter page:
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The former Michigan State walk-on is about to become an NBA chairman
The Phoenix Suns apparently have a new majority shareholder on the way, ending the disastrous reign of Robert Sarver after the league all but pushed him out following an investigation into toxic workplace culture.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Mat Ishbia, a 42-year-old billionaire from Michigan, has reached an agreement to purchase Sarver’s stake in both the Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and assume the role of team chairman.
Wojnarowski noted the deal will cost Ishbia around $4 billion.
So who is this guy? And why would he be interested in the Suns?
Here are a few quick, basic facts we know about him that you can use to look smart later on.
ESPN Sources: Ishbia's purchase price is in the neighborhood of $4 billion. https://t.co/HzH2XSspHp
According to reports, Mat Ishbia is set to purchase the Phoenix Suns in the near future
Mat Ishbia has made a splash in the NBA world on Tuesday when it was announced that he is in agreement to purchase the Phoenix Suns. Ishbia, the leader of United Wholesale Mortgage, has been prospecting purchasing a professional sports franchise for a while, and is now going to be given an opportunity.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the news, announcing the deal should be completed in the near future.
BREAKING: Billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia is finalizing a purchase of the Phoenix Suns, sources tell ESPN. The deal, expected to be completed in the near future, would end the tumultuous tenure of owner Robert Sarver.
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.
