Matt Ishbia officially became the owner of the Phoenix Suns on February 7, and already in his first week on the job he was behind one of the biggest deals the NBA has seen in recent years.
The Suns gave up Mikel Bridges, Cam Johnson and four first-round picks to get Kevin Durant from Brooklyn.
In an interview with "Sports Illustrated", the former player who won the championship with Michigan State said that "I liked our team, but I always want to win now. This does not mean that I will sacrifice the future, but with Kevin Durant there was an opportunity. I knew we had a plan, but also I felt perfectly fine if we didn't do anything."
Jack Vaughan received a long-term contract in Brooklyn, Lonzo Ball will not return this season
after two years: the player who was thrown out of the league because of an anti-Semitic curse returns to the NBA and
does not leave the city: Russell Westbrook concluded with the Los Angeles Clippers
Phoenix held talks with Brooklyn about Durant last summer as well, but those talks ended in an impasse.
Ishbia commented on this and said: "I don't know what happened in the summer, but this time, in conversations with Joe Chai and Shawn Marks, it wasn't a matter of months but days, hours. I decided to do what I could to help us succeed. I don't think For every dollar. We'll already make money, it doesn't worry me."
After the trade, Ishavia will have to pay a luxury tax of 40 million dollars, but it doesn't bother him - not right now: "The money is not personal. We tried to think only of what is best for the team. Will Kevin help us win the championship this season? That was the only conversation. We talked For a few hours, the financial matter was resolved in a few seconds. Everyone knew that I was ready, that it didn't bother me."
The new owner who bought the club from Robert Sarber did give the credit to General Manager James Jones, but in the United States they claimed that he was the one who initiated the move.
"It was a unanimous decision," he claimed.
"It was not a difficult decision. We did not want to give up all these players, but in the end we maximized our opportunities for the coming years. I think there is no risk in this deal. This is our vision."
It is still unclear when Durant's intriguing debut for his new team will take place.
Phoenix's first game after the All-Star break will be this Friday, at home against Oklahoma City - the team where Durant started his NBA career.
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