NBA exec jokes about ‘Ishbia Rule’ with Kevin Durant, Suns reverse results

When Phoenix Suns the owner Matt Ishbia took over as the majority owner, he immediately had Kevin Durant on his radar. The NBA’s first owner had an immediate impact when he took over.

The The Suns made a blockbuster trade for Kevin Durantwho sent Mychal Bridges, Cameron Johnson and four first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets. The move gave Phoenix the Big 4 of Devin Booker, Chris Paul, DeAndre Ayton and Durant. Despite the acquisition of Durant, they only reached the Western Conference semifinals.

They ended up losing in six games to the Denver Nuggets, who went on to win the NBA title that season. Fast forward one season and Ishbia continued to put his thumb on the scale. He assisted in the landing It sets off another blockbuster trade, this time for Bradley Beal. Still, the organization sent four future first-round pick trades and six future second-round picks.

Now, in 2024, Phoenix has a 20-20 record and could feel the effects of pulling more draft assets. One NBA executive feels exactly the same and told ESPN that Ishbia could end up in bad company.

“Everybody knows about Stepien’s rule,” the executive said. “I don’t know how this will all play out, but depending on how that KD trade goes, there may be a proposed ‘Ishbia Rule’ where new owners can’t make a trade for six months after buying a team.”

Will Suns owner Mat Ishbia end up on the bad side of history?

Ishbia is not the first hands-on owner the NBA has seen. One of the pioneers of this was Mark Cuban when he previously owned the Dallas Mavericks. He made his voice known through certain crafts, signatures, among other things. As a result, it paid off and the Mavericks won the 2011 NBA Championship against the Miami Heat.

Heading into today, current Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has put his thumb on the scale in a big way. For starters, he helped build the Intuit Dome, the Clippers’ new arena in Inglewood, California. They have their own new arena and no longer have to share it with the Los Angeles Lakers.

However, both Cuban and Ballmer have something in common. They let the CEOs do their jobs. Although they have input, they allow those people to make business decisions. For Ishby, it was a bit of the opposite, and then some. It’s not bad that he was involved, but too much involvement can be a bad thing.

Phoenix after all there are only two drafts after Nick Richards took over on Wednesday. They put all their eggs in one basket and so far it hasn’t paid off. Right now, a 20-20 record doesn’t justify going overboard to acquire superstars. Moreover, sometimes the fit is not always there.

Now, the Suns don’t have too many resources to waste. If the franchise doesn’t secure a championship, Ishbia could end up in the history books, for all the wrong reasons.