Suns Owner Mat Ishbia Breaks Silence Amid ‘Fire Frank Vogel’ Sentiment: “Love That People Are Frustrated We Didn’t Win”

Many wouldn’t have believed it if anyone had said before the season began that a team with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal would get swept in the first round of the playoffs. However, that is exactly what happened with the Suns on Sunday at the hands of the Timberwolves. And now that their Big 3 experiment proved a big failure in its first year, fans have been wondering who to blame for the humiliation. With ‘firing’ frustrations rising, head coach Frank Vogel has found himself in the crossfire, as Suns owner Mat Ishbia indirectly resonates with the fans.

Amid his head coach facing heat after the early playoff exit, Ishbia said, “I love that people are frustrated that we didn’t win an NBA championship, because guess what? So are we.” With that, major changes might be in order this summer as the Suns want to capitalize on their Championship window as soon as they can.

Just three years ago, they made it all the way to the NBA Finals, falling a bit short against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. But since then, they haven’t been able to get past the second round. So, something surely needs to change for them to rise back to the Championship picture again. In the last few days, there’ve been a few critics suggesting a KD exit, possibly to the Warriors. Is that a possible solution, or what is?

Is firing Frank Vogel the solution to the Suns’ problems?

Although Ishbia said nothing certain about Frank Vogel’s future in Phoenix, he did commend the head coach for the job he did this year, “I think Frank Vogel did a lot of great things.” Even General Manager James Jones shared the same sentiment, claiming Vogel did a “tremendous job” amid the adversity the Suns faced all year.

Surely, Jones was talking about the injury-riddled season the Suns had this year. Although, on paper, the Suns had the lethal offensive trio of KD, Beal, and Booker; for the most part, one of the three superstars was missing because of injury. First, Bradley Beal missed a major chunk of the season due to back issues. Then, just days after returning, he suffered an ankle injury, leading him to miss more games. So, it’s safe to say he was never able to get into a rhythm in his debut season.

Even Booker missed some time due to injury concerns. Despite that, the Suns were able to bag the sixth seed in a stacked Western Conference by claiming 49 victories. Then, when it came to the playoffs, they suffered another devastating blow as their sharpshooter, Grayson Allen, suffered an ankle injury in Game 2 against the Timberwolves. And losing a player who shot a league-high 46.1% from the three-point line only did further damage to the Suns. Jones also claimed the Timberwolves were the better team in the series.

So, it might be a little unfair to throw Frank Vogel under the bus, considering he did everything he could with what he got. Maybe Ishbia would want to give Vogel one more chance while the roster is steadier and not plagued by injuries. But in this brutal business, we can never know when a head coach has coached his last game.