NBA Insider Marc Stein On The Latest About Suns Front Office Shake Up And Bob Myers

The Phoenix Suns under Mat Ishbia have won a lot of press conferences with the trades for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal and the hirings of Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer but haven’t won on the court. Would hiring Bob Myers to run the front office be another splashy move that doesn’t deliver?

Plus, NBA Insider Marc Stein stops by to share the latest on Myers, Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns coaching search.

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What about Bob? Get that stuff out of here. It’s Southwest Bias. Welcome into another Southwest Bias brought to you by our friends at Branded Bills. Get your custom headwear and apparel from Branded Bills and use that promo code PHNX and you’re going to save 20% off your first order. And yeah, what about Bob? Bob Bob Meyers. We’ve heard all sorts of talk over the last week, week and a half about the former Golden State front office member coming to Phoenix and running things for the Suns as they go through their rebuild, retool, or whatever the hell you want to call it. And well, it sounds great in theory, and I’ll admit it. I’ve pushed for this over the last year or so to bring in a guy of championship caliber. I’ve started to wonder something. Is this essentially making the same mistake that the Phoenix Suns have over the last two and a half years, but doing it in the front office? You traded for stars in Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. You went out and got head coaches with championship experience in Frank Vogle and Mike Budenhoer. and you won the press conference each and every time. You got the NBA talking about how brilliant some of these moves were and how they could set you up for success in the desert, but each and every one of failed in their own way. Kevin Durant a little less. He’s been good, but you haven’t gotten to that winning caliber that you’ve wanted. The coaches both flamed out and Bradley Beal has been well not really serviceable for you. So is hiring Bob Meyers the front office equivalent of doing this? Yeah, you’re going to win that press conference. You’re going to get a whole lot of positive PR out of the fact that a team that has struggled so mightily over the last year and a half, who’s limited in assets and has cap space hell as they’re stuck in the second apron, wound up landing the most coveted front office member available out there on the market. And that’s all well and good. Great to get some good PR. Great to change the storyline from the disaster that was the 24-25 season, but the Suns are facing one of the toughest tasks in franchise history. Turning over a roster of what you thought was going to be a super team to build a contender or at least a winner in the present and a team that can have sustained success for the long run. Devin Booker’s window is only so long. Devin Booker is only going to accept trying to build something for so long. You have to win in the near future. And is Bob Meyers the guy that sets you up for that success? There’s no doubt his credentials. We all know them. We know his success in Golden State. We know he’s got the championship rings. So did Benhoer and so did Vogle. Bob Meyers is somebody that enjoys his job at ESPN. He’s got a great consulting gig with the Washington Commanders. And he wants to be around his family in California. And sure, the trip between LA and Phoenix isn’t that long. It’s a 45minut flight to five minute or 5 hour drive. But what that makes you wonder is how committed is he going to be to the valley? Even if it’s a 7030 split here in LA, that means the guy that you’ve put in charge of crafting the vision for what your future is will only be a part-time resident in the state trying to get the job done. I wonder if the Suns would be better off trying to find a young, hungry front office executive who maybe hasn’t had their chance to fully execute their vision where they are. Elevate them to a position to do that here in Phoenix. And let them lock in. Let them figure out what the shortterm and what the long-term vision is for the club. let them grow with the team and figure out how to put together a team that is gritty. Maybe this person has a little of that grit and grind to him as well that Matt Ishbia was talking about wanting in this organization. Everybody loves Sam Prey, but Sam Prey didn’t come in to Oklahoma City with a long track record of success. He came in with a vision and a lot of effort that he put in there. Brad Stevens is the same way in Boston. Maybe it’s time to look for that guy that could be your generational front office guy, not a hired gun, not somebody that brings a resume that’s flashy that wins you the press conference, but maybe puts you in a similar situation that you found yourself in after the Durant and Beal moves. You can’t fail in adding this next front office member. You can’t fail with this next vision for what the Suns will be. Success is the only option. Failure is not. Matt Ishbia understands that and I give him a lot of credit. He talked about change and we’re hearing that he’s trying to enact it in the front office where many of us felt needed to happen where we felt that that was the key to setting up the future. So, will he go through with it and who does he hire? That’s going to tell you what this team will be next year in 2035. If this team is gonna get over the hump, the next front office member that they hire, the next president of basketball operations, the next guy with the vision is going to have to be able to execute it and execute it to perfection. This is the toughest job that any executive in Phoenix will have ever had. the restrictions in the cap, the lack of assets, and trying to figure out how to move off of a generational star in Kevin Durant and an albatross of a contract in Bradley Beal is going to be extremely difficult. And will the person that they hire be up to the task? We’ll find out, but I don’t think it’s going to be Bob. And if it is, you better hope it’s not just to win the press conference. But maybe that’s my Southwest bias. On the other side of the break, we catch up with NBA insider and friend of the program Mark Stein to talk about his report regarding Bob Meyers and the Sun’s interest. Got to tell you about Branded Bills. You can see the hat here. You can see him back on the wall. Branded Bills has the best headwear and apparel in the business. It’s that simple. And the best part, it’s made right here in the valley. They got a whole place over in Tempee. I’ve been there. I’ve seen them hand make these hats. It is unbelievable the attention to detail that they put in with the designs and everything that they do and the technology. It sounds funny to say technology when it comes to a hat, but they take it seriously with their fabrics and everything that they do. And if you’re looking for a way to customize gear for your business, they’ve got you covered there, too. We make custom PHNX hats through our friends at Branded Bills. They can do the same for your company. But if you’re not somebody that owns a company and you’re just looking for some amazing hats, they’ve got hats from your favorite teams, but they also have great state logos like I’m wearing and just fantastic general hats as well. Also, go to brandedbills.com, use the promo code phnx, and you’re going to save 20% off your first order. I got to tell you about my friends over at AllP ProShade Concepts. They have taken care of me like nobody else. I’ve been through a lot of different things at my house, having things installed, different projects that have gone on, but the easiest and most successful that I’ve had is with All ProShade Concepts. They came out and they gave me a free estimate, showed me all the materials that they were going to use for my window covering that I got for my giant sliding glass door. They said, “Hey, look, we can do this manual or we can do this electric.” I said, “Give me electric because I’m lazy, right?” And they came out and the installation was so easy. They were clean. They were fantastic in their craftsmanship. And everything got done in fast order. I couldn’t be more happy with my AllPro shade and I want you to be happy as well. So give them a call at 623204-1476 or visit allproshade concepts.com to sign up for your free estimate. I guarantee that you’ll love it. Really excited to welcome in NBA Insider, a member of DLLS Mavs and an all-around good guy. He is Mark Stein. Mark, how are you today? I am good, sir. How are you guys holding up out there? Uh we miss basketball. I mean, I’ll say that it’s we’re jealous of everybody else that uh gets to watch playoff basketball, but you know, it is what it is. You know what I always say, PHNX, DLLS, PHL Y, there needs to be some sort of retreat, some sort of electronic magical huddle where all three of our shows can get together at the same time and have an argument, debate, whatever term you want to use to compare NBA misery in 2024 25. Uh I believe I would call it group therapy. But Mark, you had uh a report earlier in the week talking about the Phoenix Suns interest in former Golden State executive and current broadcaster Bob Meyers. What are you hearing? What’s the latest on that front? Yeah, look, I’m not sure there’s a latest because I think the interest has been fairly longstanding. That’s actually the word that I used in Wednesday’s story that I co-wrote with Jake Fischer. Longstanding. I think Matt Ishpia has had a level of interest in trying to bring in Bob Meyers for some time, but it’s, you know, can it actually be pulled off. There’s far more skepticism in the air than optimism. And look, the reality is, uh, you know, the Suns are not alone. I think any team if they have a front office vacancy, they know that Bob Meyers is theoretically available because he’s working in television. But he also has a very lucrative gig as a consultant to Josh Harris and his NFL ownership. Not the Sixers, but Josh Harris, besides the Sixers, obviously owns the Washington Commanders in the NFL. Bob Myers works as a consultant for him on the NFL side. And so between TV and his NFL gig, Bob Myers is in a very good situation. It’s not just my pessimism wouldn’t be there exclusively for the Suns. I think any team is going to struggle to lure Bob Meyers back to front officing because he has a very good situation now that does make it feasible for him to spend time with his family and kind of enjoy life from all perspectives. But then on the flip side, you do have to say Matt Ishbia has shown us that he will spare no expense. I mean, it still staggers me when I think about Matt Ishbia making a coaching change one year into his ownership when Monty Williams had three years left on his deal. Now, the Pistons hired Monty Williams away, so that really wasn’t an issue. But his last two coaches, Frank Vogle and Mike Benhoer, were dismissed one year into five-year deals. And we’ve just never seen a team make a series of coaching changes like that one after the other after the other with so many years left on the contract. So we know it’s not going to be a financial obstacle that prevents this from happening. It’s a lifestyle thing. And frankly, anyone who comes in to take over the Suns is looking at a really, really difficult rebuild, reconstruction, reloading, whatever term you want to use, because the Suns are out so many picks. And as we talk about every single time you and I ever get together to talk basketball, this is a team that’s not just in the second second apron, but well well well they have strayed well beyond the second apron. So it’s just not going to be easy to repair the Suns and that’s got to be another daunting issue for again whoever they want to bring in. Now, Phoenix is close to LA and we know Bob Myers wants to stay close to LA. So, I mean, I guess the Suns do have that going for them, but like I said, more pessimism than skepticism in the air, I think, is the best way to describe it. I mean, Matt HBO was pretty clear when the media talked to him last week that change is coming. Do you feel with what you’ve heard about Bob Meyers that it is definitely going to be somebody at the top of that basketball operations that will be part of that change that’s going to happen? No, I still think it’s murky because uh you know James Jones, his contract runs through the end of June. Is James Jones definitely out? I don’t think people are saying that. I don’t think there’s clarity there. I mean, the reality is I think to this point, Jame Jones James Jones has been the point man for the Suns coaching search to this point. Now, Matt Ishbia was very open in his press conference that the Suns are not looking to make a rapid hire on the coaching side. The belief I would term it in league circles is that there is going to be some sort of front office change before the coaching move is made. But it, you know, when I wrote the piece with Jake on Wednesday, we didn’t have clarity. There isn’t clarity about is James Jones going to work alongside whoever is new in that front office. Is there going to be an outright change? I think people are still trying to get a handle on that around the league. And I guess it really depends on who the Suns can ultimately hire. I mean, if if they could get Bob Meyers, then we have that clarity. Bob Myers is going to be coming in. Bob Myers would be coming in as the clear-cut number one person in charge if the Suns could get him. Underline if. You know, we just again more more people than not struggle to envision that scenario. But look, I don’t know Matt Ishbia well at all, but I think just from his public persona, you can infer that, you know, telling him you have no chance probably inspires him to try to go prove us wrong. So, let’s see how it all plays out. But it’s also interesting. I mean, you you don’t hear it’s not like we’ve heard three, four, five other names here. You know, there was a rumble last week. I did not report this first. Dwayne Rankin of the Arizona Republic reported he did a piece after our story about Bob Meyers and you know he reported that I think the terminology he used was that Ishbia has been pushing hard to chase Bob Meyers but Dwayne also had in his story that Milwaukey’s John Hurst was a name to monitor here. We had heard that. We did not report it cuz we hadn’t got it to a confirmed point. And then that same day, Milwaukee ends up announcing an extension with John Horst. So, you know, that obviously is no longer an option. There really hasn’t been a lot of suggestion of who might be other candidates here. So Matt Ishpia, as you said, has talked openly about they want change, but specifically the sort of candidates they’re looking for to add to the front office. There hasn’t been the same amount of elaboration there. Well, Mark, you’re somebody that’s, you know, been around the Mavs yet for a while. You know the Mavs pretty well. Mark Cuban had been accused of accused isn’t the right word. has been had been, you know, people had said that he was kind of an owner who was overly involved at times, kind of got some of these labels early in his ownership tenure uh as Matt Ishpia. How did how did Mark wind up navigating that? And do you think that there’s any parallel between him and Ishbia early on here? Well, look, Mark Cuban was super super involved in every basketball decision. Matt Ishbia has gone to great lengths to say that, you know, he’s not watching film. He’s not weighing in to that level. So, you know, the comparisons, I guess, are inevitable because Matt Ishbia has been a very aggressive owner in his first two plus years. I mean, look, the Kevin Durant deal, I don’t think that h I think we all know that does not happen with Matt Ishbia being very, very involved. Same thing with the Bradley Beal trade, but when you look at where the Suns are, you know, you can’t say that they’re off to a flying start here. So, has that led Matt Ishbia to rethink how much he’s going to be involved? You know, I think we’re going to have to let that play out before we make that determination. But I mean I can say you know the rumbles that Matt Ishbby is going to have a strong voice in who ultim who ultimately ends up being hired as coach. I mean that you know that is certainly out there. So I mean you know you guys you guys live this every day. You tell me. I mean I think he has been. I don’t know that he’s been involved to quite the extent that Cuban was. You know, again, until until the sale of the Mavericks in November 2023, Mark Cuban was incredibly involved in every decision the Mavs made from a basketball perspective. Um, my sense is it hasn’t been to quite that same degree with Ishbia, but Matt Ishbia’s stamp has certainly been seen and felt since he bought this team. I’d imagine that the critique of his involvement goes away if winning begins again here in Phoenix. You talked about coaches earlier in the the you know the three that they’ve had in Matt HB’s tenure, but they’re obviously looking for that fourth now. I assume it’s too early to kind of look at candidates and try to figure that out till they get the front office stuff figured out. Yes, that seems to be the, you know, the best takeaway at this stage. I mean, look, the one kind of thing that is circulated about the Suns coaching coaching search that I think people are in agreement on is, you know, the Suns last two coaches and really three if you count Monty Williams. They they’ve all been veteran coaches. All the chatter in league coaching circles is they want to go away from that that they would rather go with younger candidates. Numerous ex players are included in that thinking. But certainly if the Suns want to make a significant change to their front office, whether it’s bringing in someone new to take over completely, whether it’s adding to their current front office setup, whoever that is is going to naturally want a strong say on who the next coach is. So, you know, Matt Ishvia said very clearly when he met with the media, I guess not this past week, but the previous week, “We’re not going to be hiring a coach in the next day or two.” So, um, they have begun the search. They’re talking to various candidates, but it doesn’t appear to be a super fastmoving thing. One name that’s come up in the valley uh because obviously he has connections here and has connections there in Dallas is Jared Dudley. What is the feel that you’ve gotten of Jared as an assistant in Dallas and is he ready for that next step in his coaching career you think? Look, I think he plays a pretty significant role in Dallas. Um and you know he has a he had a relationship with Anthony Davis when they were Lakers teammates. So, I think Jared Dudley is a at this point a big part of the Maverick’s work and, you know, building a relationship with Anthony Davis, who really now is along with Kyrie Irving. Those are the two franchise building blocks after this stunning Luca Dantis trade that they’ve made. So, Jared Dudley’s had a big assistant role here. doesn’t surprise me at all that his name has come up because, you know, I do think he is someone who people in coaching circles have looked at as is he a future head coaching candidate in this league. You know, that’s obviously the path he wants to be on. So, it doesn’t surprise me at all that his name. Look, he’s got a relationship with a franchise. He’s got a relationship with Devin Booker, the franchise player. So, if the Suns are looking at younger coaches, former players on the rise assistants, Jared Dudley has to be on that list and has to be in the conversation. And I imagine that he is going to get some consideration here if that’s the model Phoenix is really going for. All right, the elephant in the room, and I’ll ask you almost every time we talk, Kevin Durant, uh, and what is his future looking like? There was some talk this week that maybe the Suns are hoping to recoup almost what they gave up for him. It’s all fun in games to hope you can recoup something, but what are you hearing? What’s kind of the latest on the Kevin Durant, the Phoenix Suns? Yeah, look, I think if you pull teams, many more than not would say they expect him to be traded. But if that’s the standard, if the Suns are looking to get something resembling the package that they set out for him, I think they’re going to struggle. So, does that lead them to take a different approach? You know, again, more people than not, if you pulled front offices, I think more front offices than not would say that they expect some sort of Kevin Durant trade this off season. But, you know, if the Suns I you know, the Suns are not operating from a position of strength here. So, what kind of trade package can they realistically get back for him? I mean, that that very much remains to be seen because it is still so early. But but I would also say I think we’re gonna this is a subject we will continue to talk about constantly because you know again it’s early in the off season and that the trade talk stuff hasn’t really ramped up yet. Most of the conversation most of the grapevine conversation has been coach and GM related to this point. I I’ve always wanted to ask somebody of your ilk this question. And as a reporter, how difficult is it to sort through what somebody is trying to push when it’s a narrative and trying to get to the truth? Because this time of year there’s all these rumors and as we go into the off season, all these rumors. How do you parse through the noise and really get to okay, this is this is where the truth is. is I know it’s multiple sources, but but how does that happen on your front? I think the honest answer is that every single story is different. There’s no there there’s no just like onesizefits-all playbook to tackle these things. I mean, really, what you know, at the minimum, you’re hoping to hear it in at least two different places that you have a history, they have a history of being credible. I mean, that’s that’s where you start. But uh you know look at the trade deadline there was so much Kevin chatter that it was frankly easier than it is right now. We’re not even to the to we’re not even out of April yet. So you know this is stuff that’s going to be happening in June and it’s just harder to get that precise read in late April. Whereas at the trade deadline, there were just so many people saying, “Look, these these talk these Phoenix Golden State talks are real.” And I think at first people didn’t want to believe it. And you know, Jake and I were hearing so much that I I want to say it was Monday of trade deadline week. I’m I’m not sure if I’m reme remembering it exactly correctly, but it was I think Monday of trade deadline week when we we had our first really meaty story talking about Yeah. you know, there is a real chance here of a Kevin Durant to Golden State trade. And then the Warriors were convinced, look, Durant, he doesn’t want us to go through with this. He doesn’t want to be traded mid-season. And then the Warriors pivoted and moved to Jimmy Butler, which is the trade that they ended up making. You know, like I said, at that time there was there was just there were a lot more people discussing this in league circles. But it’s like like your your general question though is it’s like there is no there is no there is no one template that applies to every story. It just can’t work like that. Like every story has its own conditions and specifics and you’re trying to, you know, you’re just trying to listen, you know, and you remember if someone, you know, if you listen to source A and they were way wrong, you’re not going to listen to that same source the same way the next time. So, I mean, it’s just hard to kind of give you a this is exactly the way this story is going to unfold because it’s really never like that. I appreciate the insight. Mark, I have an apology to make to you here. Uh, you know, uh, and I don’t just say this because you’re on here. I’m a big fan of your newsletter. Uh, have been since before you and I kind of connected and got to know each other a little bit. But, uh, I forgot to pay you and it went, uh, for your newsletter. It went like a month and it kept going to my spam. So, I just wanted you to know my payment has come. Uh, and uh, and I am still a subscriber to the newsletter. No apologies needed. I was like, “What what what on earth could you have to apologize to me for? I didn’t know I didn’t know where this was going.” But uh no, man. You you you there are no apologies required. Uh anything uh that you want to tell the people about coming up on the newsletter, the Stein Line, I highly recommend subscribing to it. But what do you got uh cooking over there? Yeah, it’s just I mean you can expect between now and mid July just Jake Fischer and I are going to you know we’re we’re working the phones every day. We’re posting constantly. I mean, this is obviously a time of huge, huge interest. You know, 14 team, as you and I record this, 14 teams are already home. Um, in fact, I look up at the TV as we’re recording this and the Memphis Grizzlies are mere minutes away from being the 15th team sent home. And just the more teams that go out, obviously it, you know, again, the focus right now has been coaching changes, GM changes, cuz there’s been a lot. I mean, there’s been, you know, four teams already that have made moves in their front offices and and it might not be over for the offseason. So, that’s a lot in one a season, but just you can you can rest assured Jake and I will have multiple stories every week trying to cover everything that’s going on. And look, that draft lottery is coming. I think May 12th, is that the right date for the draft lottery? So, you know, the draft lottery happens and then I think we’re really off to the races when all the talk really starts to ramp up as far as, you know, how teams are going to start working on roster changes. Because, as we know, July 1st, July 1st is when free agency starts, but it really starts well before that if we’re being if we’re being candid here on PHNX. Uh, Mark, I’d love to tell you that I have the draft lottery date circled, but that’s just painful for Suns fans. He is Mark Stein. You can follow him at the Steinline on Twitter. Also, subscribe to the newsletter and catch his work on DLS. Mark, appreciate your time. We’ll do it again soon. Be good. A special thanks to our friend Mark Stein for joining us on the show. And I want to wrap it up today talking a little bit about Devin Booker. And no, not Deon Booker on the court. Not any of these ridiculous rumors that he should ask out of Phoenix. No, I want to talk about Devin Booker, the man. the guy off the court that has embraced the valley of the sun and this week was no different as he stopped not one place but two place for the kids here in Arizona. He stopped at a lemonade stand in the valley while he was driving by to buy some lemonade from two kids that were sitting on the side of the road selling it and it was unbelievable. Take a look at the clip here. [Music] You get some. Yeah. So, we got uh used homemade we got water and Gatorade and some bananas. Of course, whatever you want. I’ll do orange. Whoa. Thank you. Thank you so much. Cool car. Thank you. Yeah. Are you guys? I am. I’m like I’m like your biggest fan. My man. Give me some. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, too. You guys keep doing what you’re doing. Have a good one. My favorite part is when the kid realizes it was actually Devin Booker and he loses his ever loving mind. Yeah, I know people will say, “Oh, this is disingenuous. There was a camera there. It was a setup.” No, I think it just happened to be that Devin Booker did what he usually does and somebody happened to be recording it because also up in Flagstaff, Deon went golfing. That’s not all that unbelievable. He does that a lot while he’s up in Flagstaff. But what was so cool was again there were two kids at the golf course selling used golf balls and Deon Booker stopped, bought some golf balls and took a picture with these two kids. Devin Booker is committed to the Valley and I like that about a guy that’s all in on the town that he lives in and a city that has embraced him for well over a decade. It’s been fun to watch what he does on and off the court in the valley, and I can’t wait to see what it looks like for the rest of his career because all signs point to him getting another extension this off season or in an off season in the near future that will keep him in purple and orange for a very, very long time. That’s another edition of Southwest Bias. A big thanks to our guest Mark Stein and also our friends at Branded Bills for sponsoring this episode. You can follow the show at phnx_ports. You can follow me at Espo. And until next time, aoy hoy.