Matt Ishbia’s time as the owner of the Phoenix Suns has been a rollercoaster, with high hopes and controversial decisions that have raised many eyebrows. In the span of just a few years, Ishbia has gone from making bold, game-changing moves to finding himself embroiled in multiple legal battles. What started as a promising ownership venture is now spiraling into a public disaster—one that could change the very fabric of the franchise. And behind it all, the $21 million lawsuit that could shake the Suns to their core.

Ishbia’s initial acquisition of the Phoenix Suns in February 2023 was supposed to mark a new era for the team. The billionaire mortgage magnate made a record-breaking purchase of the franchise for $4 billion, buying out former owner Robert Sarver, who was ousted due to a scandal surrounding workplace misconduct. Ishbia’s first move as owner was nothing short of bold: he traded for superstar Kevin Durant, setting the stage for a championship-contending team that could finally bring the Suns their long-sought title.

But as is often the case with high-stakes business ventures, the dream quickly turned into a nightmare. The Suns went into the 2023 playoffs with their newly acquired star, but the result was a humbling loss in six games to the eventual NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets. It was a tough blow, but many fans believed that with a little more time and development, the team could still compete at the highest level. But then, Ishbia did the unthinkable. He fired Monty Williams, the coach who had led the Suns to the NBA Finals in 2021 and was hailed as one of the brightest coaching minds in the league.

The decision to let go of Williams, who had built a strong culture in Phoenix, stunned many in the basketball community. The coach had won Coach of the Year in 2022 and had a remarkable win-loss record during his tenure. But Ishbia wasn’t finished. The franchise’s next move saw the trade of Chris Paul, another key figure in the Suns’ success, for Bradley Beal, a player whose enormous $251 million contract and no-trade clause quickly became a liability. The team’s new roster, featuring Durant, Devin Booker, and Beal, looked formidable on paper, but without the necessary depth and playmaking, it became clear that the Suns’ super-team dream was flawed.

Then came the real shocker—Matt Ishbia started making moves that seemed to push the team further away from success. While the Suns roster was loaded with talent, the team had no real point guard and no depth to support the heavyweights on the roster. The Suns were left with little cap space, relying on a rotation that wasn’t equipped to win consistently. Yet Ishbia stood by his decision, declaring that the team was built to win a championship. The fanbase, however, began to lose patience as the season wore on, and the team’s struggles became undeniable. In May 2024, the Suns were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves—a humiliating defeat for a team that had invested so much in its superstars.

But instead of admitting that the roster and coaching staff were flawed, Ishbia doubled down. He fired head coach Frank Vogel, another experienced figure who had helped guide the team. This marked the third head coach fired under Ishbia’s tenure—Monty Williams, Frank Vogel, and now Mike Budenholzer, who had been brought in with high hopes but failed to deliver. And then, Ishbia made another fatal error—he traded Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets, a move that seemed to signal the collapse of everything he had worked for.

The fallout from that trade, which sent Durant, one of the best players of his generation, to Houston for a handful of assets, was nothing short of catastrophic. In just two and a half years, Ishbia had traded away key players, future picks, and completely dismantled the roster he had initially built to win a championship. The return for Durant was minimal at best: Jaylen Green, Dylan Brooks, and some draft picks. The Suns had given up one of the greatest scorers in NBA history for a handful of young players and some draft capital that would take years to pay off.

But the financial damage didn’t stop there. The Suns, under Ishbia’s direction, were also caught in a web of legal issues. Two minority owners, Scott Seldon and Andy Colberg, filed a lawsuit in Delaware, accusing Ishbia of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. The lawsuit claims that Ishbia had treated the Phoenix Suns as his personal piggy bank, using the team’s money for his own benefit while ignoring the financial responsibilities of ownership. The details of the lawsuit are staggering, and they paint a picture of a billionaire who used his position to enrich himself at the expense of the team and its stakeholders.

One of the most shocking allegations involves a “capital call” made by Ishbia in 2025, where he reportedly missed a deadline to fund his share of the team. When he failed to meet this deadline, Ishbia allegedly tried to cover up his mistake by concealing the details from the other owners. According to the lawsuit, he then tried to manipulate the situation to dilute the ownership stakes of the minority partners while protecting his own. This alleged move was described by one of the minority owners’ attorneys as “blundering into a trap” of his own making.

Additionally, the lawsuit accuses Ishbia of conflicts of interest, such as buying naming rights for the Suns’ arena through his own company, United Wholesale Mortgage, and using the team’s funds for his personal business ventures. The minority owners also claim that Ishbia has been spending wildly on luxury items and personal projects, such as a $20 million clubhouse, all while the Suns and their affiliated team, the Phoenix Mercury, operated at a net loss since Ishbia took over. These actions have raised serious concerns about Ishbia’s commitment to the team and the long-term future of the franchise.

The situation has left the Suns in turmoil. Despite having one of the most expensive rosters in NBA history, the team is no closer to a championship than it was before Ishbia’s controversial moves. The Suns’ internal dysfunction has now spilled into the courts, and the future of the franchise is uncertain. Will Ishbia be forced to sell the team, or will he continue his reign of financial mismanagement? The outcome of the lawsuit could determine the future of the Phoenix Suns for years to come.

As the drama continues to unfold, one thing is clear—the Phoenix Suns are in a deep crisis. What started as a high-stakes gamble on a championship has turned into a disaster of monumental proportions. The team’s future now hangs in the balance, and whether they can recover from this mess remains to be seen. Fans and analysts alike are left wondering: can the Suns recover, or has Matt Ishbia’s tenure marked the beginning of the end for the franchise?