No clear plan yet as the Suns’ offseason clock keeps ticking

Patience is fine, but the Phoenix Suns need leadership before it is too late.

The Phoenix Suns stand on the edge of a potential front office shakeup this offseason, but so far, it’s been little more than whispers and speculation. The only definitive move has been the firing of head coach Mike Budenholzer, dismissed the day after the regular season came to a merciful end.

In his postseason press conference, Mat Ishbia emphasized patience, promising that the organization would take its time, evaluate thoroughly, and do things right when it came to hiring the next head coach. “You’re not going to see a next coach hired in a week or two,” Ishbia stated.

Yet when it comes to the front office, the silence has been deafening.

This is the same front office that—if we take Josh Bartelstein at his word—suggests Ishbia wasn’t behind the trades or overall franchise direction, has mishandled the prime years of Devin Booker, and stumbled badly in building around Kevin Durant after his acquisition.

Rumors continue to swirl, but they paint a picture of reorganization, not revolution. Instead of cleaning house, it appears the Suns will opt for a reshuffling of roles. Marc Stein’s latest report in The Stein Line only reinforced that perception, suggesting that James Jones’ influence within the organization will remain largely unchanged.

Word is that James Jones, whose contract as the Suns’ lead decision-maker expires in June, has to this point been operating as the point guard for the Phoenix coaching search.

Suns owner Mat Ishbia is on record as saying that the search will be slow-moving, but the fact that Jones is at its forefront to this point would seem it support suggestions that he could be asked to stay with the franchise in a recongured role in the event that a new lead decision-maker is hired.

It feels like a classic case of “no news is good news,” except this time, no news isn’t good at all. Yes, it’s smart that the Suns are taking their time, exercising due diligence with the future of the franchise. But at some point, a decision has to be made. A trigger has to be pulled.

The NBA Draft is only two months away. 58 days, to be exact. Time needs to be spent not just navigating the draft, but also defining the “identity” Mat Ishbia keeps talking about. Identity isn’t something you slap onto a PowerPoint and pass around a room full of executives. It’s built by decision-makers through their resolve, their consistency, and their willingness to dedicate themselves to a real vision.

If no one is steering the ship, the window for defining that identity shrinks. Pressure mounts. And when that happens, you don’t get clarity. You get a snap decision. Or worse, you get sold on some Canva presentation full of empty buzzwords instead of a real, living identity.

Maybe I’m rushing it. But time moves fast, and the Suns can’t afford to keep pussyfooting around. They need to define who they are, starting at the very top. Not waiting for James Jones to pick a coach while they maybe figure out what the hell they stand for.

Because the moment you hire a new GM or head coach, the franchise’s DNA shifts. Interviews are just performative theater, people telling you what you want to hear, agreeing with whatever buzzwords you already wrote on the whiteboard. It’s not real until it’s lived.

Time is running out. And this offseason is too important to get it wrong.

Giddy up.

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