The Phoenix Suns have hired a new head coach in Jordan Ott, and naturally, the move comes with its fair share of scrutiny thanks to the now-familiar Michigan State connection. It follows the hiring of Brian Gregory as general manager, a man with no front office experience but ties to Mat Ishbia from their shared time at Michigan State, when Gregory was an assistant coach and Ishbia was a walk-on for a national championship team.

So yes, people are skeptical.

There’s discomfort with what feels like the ‘good ol’ boys’ network at play, a bit of collegiate nepotism, if you will. But for me, that doesn’t strike the same nerve. I’ve said it before: when Ishbia arrived in Phoenix, he did what any passionate, ambitious new owner would do. He threw resources at the problem. He took big swings. He spent money. He made aggressive, headline-grabbing moves in the name of chasing a title. And while those moves ultimately didn’t pay off in playoff wins, it wasn’t for lack of trying. At the time, they were exciting. They energized a franchise that had too long operated on the margins. They gave this fan base hope.

Now, Ishbia is pivoting. He’s shifting from splashy to strategic. From impulse to infrastructure.

He’s leaning into what made him successful in the corporate world, building a culture rooted in loyalty, alignment, and long-term vision, the very culture that built United Wholesale Mortgage into a powerhouse. That approach will be misunderstood by many, especially in a league driven by stars and short-term results. But it’s not inherently a bad thing. It’s simply different. And like anything unfamiliar, it’ll take time for people to adjust. The key now is whether the organization can learn from its early missteps and turn this philosophy into something sustainable.

With all that being said, it would be naïve of me to blindly believe that a shift in culture shouldn’t be met with scrutiny.

We’re a fan base deeply invested in this team — emotionally, historically, generationally — and it’s perfectly fair to be concerned about the direction things are headed. The reality is, Mat Ishbia’s track record as owner has been short, and to this point, unsuccessful.

While there’s room to appreciate the boldness of his moves and his willingness to spend in pursuit of a championship, trust is a different currency entirely. It has to be earned. And that’s what makes this offseason such a fascinating, pivotal one. Ishbia is pivoting at a time when much of the fan base feels detached and skeptical, unsure if the person leading the charge truly knows where he’s going.

The hiring of Jordan Ott today marks another step in fortifying this philosophical shift. Ishbia is betting on youth, innovation, and player connectivity. And yes, with more than a few Spartan ties along the way. On this same day, Ishbia reportedly sent an internal letter to the Suns' basketball operations, taking accountability for failing to establish a consistent culture since arriving and addressing other internal challenges.

Included in the letter, per Kellan Olson of Arizona Sports, is the following:

“Let me start with the most important point – the Phoenix Suns will do things very differently than most other NBA franchises,” Ishbia writes in the letter after stating he wants to be direct with staff on creating a culture of accountability.

“I will be extremely active in the decisions and management of this organization, on and off the floor,” he goes on to write. “While I won’t be reviewing film, designing offenses, or running the draft room, I will be deeply involved in ensuring that basketball operations, like every other area of our organization, is performing at the highest level.

“I’m aware that this approach is different from most other NBA franchises. I’m not the conventional NBA owner and I don’t want to be. I’ve tried running the typical NBA owner playbook – hiring the experts, signing the checks, and getting out of the way – and none of us were happy with the outcome. Making the playoffs two out of three years, and only winning one playoff series, is not good enough for this franchise and this community.”

Ishbia starts by framing this new direction as something very different from the way most NBA franchises operate, a move that naturally invites words like innovation, forward-thinking, and outside-the-box.

Maybe this is him learning on the job, realizing that trying to buy your way to a championship — a strategy that worked for the Warriors once upon a time — doesn’t fly in today’s NBA climate. Whether that means embracing new technology, advanced metrics, or modernized scouting philosophies remains to be seen. And it’s important to remember: different doesn’t automatically mean better. It just means different. And in this case, unproven.

It’s the second part of his statement, though, that really makes me uneasy. When Ishbia mentions that he plans to stay deeply involved in the day-to-day decisions and operations of this basketball team, that’s where the caution lights start flashing. Because to me, that suggests the hires of Brian Gregory and Jordan Ott might not be about empowering specialists to execute their vision, but about installing trusted figures to carry out his.

I’ve always believed good leadership means hiring people you trust, equipping them with the tools to succeed, and then getting out of their way. You check in, you hold them accountable, you have systems in place. But you don’t hover. You don’t micromanage. Because when you do, it signals that you don’t fully trust their expertise. That you need to constantly look over their shoulder, steer their decisions, and shape their moves before they’re even made.

And that’s why Ishbia’s comments give me pause. This is a guy in his third year as an NBA owner, installing two people into roles they’ve never held, while signaling that he’ll be the one closely overseeing the show.

Maybe that’s how he’s built success at United Wholesale Mortgage. Maybe that model works in a corporate environment. But the NBA isn’t a boardroom. There’s no board of directors here. No shareholders to temper decision-making. It’s Ishbia at the top, with the final word on everything. And if the culture being built underneath him is one where people are hesitant to challenge him, to offer hard truths, or to push back when necessary, it risks becoming an echo chamber. One that breeds dysfunction instead of championships. And that, more than anything, should concern Suns fans.

Ishbia openly admits he’s not interested in being a conventional NBA owner, and frankly, he’s already proven that.

He tried playing from the typical new-owner playbook: make splashy moves, chase star power, throw money at problems. And like so many before him, he fell victim to new owner syndrome. Now, he’s pivoting. He recognizes that one playoff series win in three years isn’t good enough, and he’s trying a different route. One where short-term and long-term success need to be clearly defined. And built, not bought.

So, here we are. He’s brought in Brian Gregory and Jordan Ott. And while I genuinely believe Ott is qualified for this job, the bigger question is whether he’ll be placed in an environment that nurtures his creativity, fosters accountability, and actually gives him the runway to succeed. That’s something we just don’t know yet.

The truth is, any significant shift in philosophy deserves scrutiny. That’s the nature of this business. For those insisting the Suns aren’t fundamentally changing their approach, Ishbia’s own letter to basketball operations today contradicts that entirely. They are. It’s a new direction, whether you’re on board or not. Where it leads? That’s still to be determined.

And maybe that’s what this offseason truly represents. Not just a roster shuffle or a coaching hire, but a referendum on what kind of franchise the Phoenix Suns want to be under Mat Ishbia. Culture isn’t something you declare in a memo or manufacture through familiar faces; it’s something you earn through clarity, trust, and results.

This pivot might lead to cohesion and a modernized, innovative basketball operation. Or it might expose the risks of insularity and unchecked control. Either way, the path ahead is uncharted, and for a fan base that’s lived through decades of reinvention, it’s another chapter in a story we’re still trying to believe has a happy ending.

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