Rumors

Amare Stoudemire: I wanted to stay in Phoenix and was trying to negotiate with the previous owner, but he was trying to create this whole football-style contract where nothing was guaranteed. I’m like, ‘Wait, what? Hold on a second. I just led the team in scoring, rebounds, and blocks. We lost at a buzzer-beater—Kobe hit the shot, Ron Artest scored at the last second—and we could’ve gone to the Western Conference Finals off one shot. Run it back! Me and Nash had a great season.’ "And then he says, ‘Well, I want to try this.’ And I’m like, ‘Man, I’ve got no time for trying nothing. I just led the team in points, rebounds, and blocks. I’m not going to be the guinea pig. I’m not the guinea pig. Pay that!’ So, because he didn’t want to work that out, I decided to go elsewhere."

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After former owner Robert Sarver sold the Suns’ former G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, to Detroit, it wasn’t long before the Suns became the only NBA organization that didn’t have its own G League affiliate. Josh Bartelstein was part of the Detroit organization that bought the Suns’ G League affiliate, but now he can say he helped bring the G League back to Phoenix. “Ironically enough, I was the one on the other side buying the team from the Suns and getting it to Detroit, and now three years later, I’m here,” Bartelstein laughed. “It’s really, really important. I mean, the G-League is a staple of many NBA franchises.”

gophnx.com

Between the Suns, Phoenix Mercury and now the Valley Suns, Bartelstein and owner Mat Ishbia have completed the holy trio of professional basketball teams in the state of Arizona. It’s something Ishbia mentioned on his first day as owner in a one-on-one interview with PHNX Sports, and now the Suns will get their opportunity to utilize an important team-building tool. “Obviously James Jones and myself have talked about, from day one, the impact the G League can have,” Bartelstein said. “Players on our team from Bol Bol, Grayson Allen and Damion Lee, you’re seeing more and more players start their careers in the G League and grow, learn our system, learn how we want to play it, and one day contribute at the high-up stage of playing in NBA games, NBA playoff games and hopefully winning an NBA championship.”

gophnx.com

Duane Rankin: "I think the wallets are different." Shawn Marion when comparing Mat Ishbia becoming team owner and having Big 3 of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to when Robert Sarver was the team owner with Steve Nash, Amar'e Stoudemire and himself. #Suns pic.twitter.com/aqyh6MJEZw

Twitter

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has become a shareholder in Real Mallorca, the LaLiga club said Tuesday. Mallorca reorganised its ownership structure last month, with president Andy Kohlberg becoming majority shareholder after acquiring the shares of former Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver.

ESPN

Disney boss Bob Iger was prevented from bidding on the Phoenix Suns because of a deep-seated grudge held by the NBA team’s disgraced former owner against the media tycoon, The Post has learned. Robert Sarver, who was run out of the league after Disney-owned ESPN exposed Sarver’s history of workplace misconduct, refused to allow Iger to take part in the auction. “No sales book, no Non-Disclosure Agreement, no conversation,” a source close to the situation said.

New York Post

Sarver blamed Iger for his downfall and would not let him anywhere near the auction for the Suns, sources said.

New York Post

New owner Mat Ishbia targeted Bartelstein as CEO to help him overhaul a troubled post-Robert Sarver organizational culture and now they'll work together to oversee the franchise's business and basketball divisions, sources said. Suns president of basketball operations and general manager James Jones will continue to lead basketball operations and report directly to Ishbia, sources said.

ESPN

An NBA spokesperson confirmed The Republic's initial report Robert Sarver was still suspended despite selling the two franchises, saying Wednesday the suspension is "active" and will last for the yearlong duration. The suspension began Sept. 13, 2022 when the league announced the findings of a 10-month investigation. However, Sarver's representatives contend a phrase in those documents prove the suspension should have ended with the sale to billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia.

Arizona Republic

On Friday, Sarver's representatives presented The Republic a heavily redacted document they contend Sarver signed with the belief he'd no longer should be suspended after the sale of the team. Signed by Sarver and NBA's general counsel, Rick Buchanan, the document states there is an agreement "solely for the purpose of Section 6," which is the section that reads "the RS letter shall automatically terminate following the Transfer (including the restrictions therein)."

Arizona Republic

Robert Sarver remains under his yearlong suspension by the NBA despite no longer being the majority owner of the Phoenix Suns, sources tell The Republic. Sarver will serve the entire suspension from any activities involving the Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, sources tell The Republic, that was part of his punishment along with a $10-million fine for “workplace misconduct and organizational deficiencies” found in the 10-month NBA investigation.

Arizona Republic

The suspension began Sept. 13, 2022, when the NBA announced the results of the investigation. The league detailed what Sarver wasn’t allowed to do during the one-year suspension. · Be present at any NBA or WNBA team facility, including any office, arena, or practice facility. · Attend or participate in any NBA or WNBA event or activity, including games, practices, or business partner activity. · Represent the Suns or Mercury in any public or private capacity.

Arizona Republic

Former Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver is giving a $20,000 individual bonus to many team employees and is also donating $5 million to the team's charity, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

ESPN

Mat Ishbia: “I had dinner with Robert Sarver and wanted to understand about owning an NBA team. I’ve had dinners with a lot of NBA owners not with the goal of buying their team. Phoenix was the elite one and when it came up for sale, I wanted to make sure I was the next guy and and how could I do that and the way I started it is with the relationship. I had to meet him ... had dinner with him and talked to him about the organization, about being an NBA owner, the Phoenix market and understand those things. And so, we built a relationship from there. At the end of the day, you can build a lot of relationships, but I also paid the top price – by a lot.”

Arizona Republic