Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Iguodala, Schröder, Westbrook, Sarver

September 18th, 2022 at 2:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Warriors anticipate that longtime veteran leader Andre Iguodala will announce his return to the club, writes Marc Stein on Substack. Iguodala has previously suggested he will publicly reveal his decision during an upcoming episode of his podcast Point Forward, co-hosted by his former Sixers teammate Evan Turner.

Stein reports that Golden State expects Iguodala, who has won four titles with the team, will be back for his 19th NBA season in 2022/23 rather than opting to retire, but is prepared for either outcome. The Warriors top off their 2022 training camp earlier than most other teams, as they will be playing exhibition games abroad.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Elsewhere in his latest Substack piece, Stein suggests that the Lakers consider Russell Westbrook and new addition Dennis Schröder to be their top two point guards. Sources inform Stein that the Lakers see the 6’1″ Patrick Beverley, who started as a point guard alongside shooting guard D’Angelo Russell last season with the Timberwolves, as a swingman who can defend and shoot from long range, rather than a point guard, heading into his 11th NBA season. Stein writes that L.A. intends to use Kendrick Nunn, Austin Reaves, and Lonnie Walker at the shooting guard or small forward position instead of point guard.
Earlier today, Schröder led his native Germany to a win over Poland to secure a bronze medal in this year’s EuroBasket contest, per Eurohoops. The 6’3″ Lakers point guard scored 26 points on 7-of-10 shooting. “That was the goal of the federation, of coach Herbert and for the team and it’s an unbelievable feeling to win a medal in a Eurobasket,” Schröder said after the game. Schröder’s performance in tournament play this summer reportedly helped his cause in free agency.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver seemed uncomfortable at being forced to defend the misbehavior of temporarily suspended Suns team owner Robert Sarver in a Wednesday press conference, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Sarver has been banned from having any role with either Phoenix basketball club he owns, the Suns or the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, for the 2022/23 season.

Chris Paul Hopes To Join Ownership Group After Retirement

September 17th, 2022 at 1:16pm CST by JD Shaw

Suns star Chris Paul is entering the 18th season of his professional career, but the 37-year-old already knows what he wants to do when his playing days are over. Paul is hoping to own an NBA team one day, as Ngozi Nwanji of AfroTech relays (hat tip to Yahoo)

“I would like to be a part of an ownership group after I’m done playing,” Paul said at the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Summit, according to Nwanji.

Paul also stated his intentions earlier this summer. Of course, Paul plays for Phoenix, a team currently owned by Robert Sarver — who was recently fined $10MM and banned for a year after an investigation revealed he showed racial insensitivity and disrespect in the workplace.

Paul would likely want to stay involved in the NBA and improve league-wide leadership. Aside from being a strong on-court leader, Paul also served as the president of the National Basketball Players Association for eight years. He has played for New Orleans, Los Angeles (Clippers), Houston, Oklahoma City and Phoenix over the course of a storied career.

One of Paul’s friends, LeBron James, has already declared he wants to own an NBA team after he retires, while Dwyane Wade, another one of his friends, bought a stake in the Jazz last year. For now, Paul’s focus surely remains on winning a title, as the Suns fell short last season despite finishing 64-18.

NBPA’s Tremaglio: “Absolutely Calling” To Ban Sarver For Life

September 16th, 2022 at 7:00pm CST by Rory Maher

In an interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews on NBA Today (video link), NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio, confirming that she was speaking on behalf of NBA players, said that Suns owner Robert Sarver should be banned from the league for life, writes ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.

Sarver received a one-year suspension and was fined $10MM for workplace misconduct, including racist and misogynistic comments.

“We are absolutely calling for that [lifetime ban],” Tremaglio said. “We do not want him to be in a position where he is managing or engaging with individuals who are engaging with our players or the players themselves. We are absolutely clear from the findings that are in the report that we do not want him to be in that position.”

Tremaglio also confirmed to ESPN her previous tweet stating that she’d spoken to commissioner Adam Silver about the NBPA’s stance that Sarver should never hold a managerial position again, but wasn’t sure how open Silver was to changing his mind, despite increasing pressure from minority owners, sponsors, and stars like Lakers forward LeBron James and Suns guard Chris Paul.

Andrews asked Tremaglio if the players were considering boycotting games in the wake of the report and subsequent suspension, but she said there had been no discussions on the matter yet, noting that players are focused on the upcoming season. However, she reiterated that “our players are incredibly upset” about the news.

“Their hearts go out to the families and all of the individuals who have actually had to endure this for such a long period of time. But, at the same time, they recognize that they have a job to do and they are really excited about moving forward with the season,” Tamaglio said.

“Quite frankly, I know that we never want our players to be in a position where they are unsafe or individuals that they are around are unsafe. Mr. Sarver had the ability to set the tone at the top. And for us to have individuals that are in a leadership role impacting the game in that way is detrimental to the success of our players and the safety of our players and that will not be tolerated,” Tamaglio added, per Holmes.

As ESPN’s Zach Lowe noted in an earlier appearance on NBA Today (video link), a lifetime ban for Sarver is not the same as forcing him to sell the team.

According to Lowe, it’s legally possible that Sarver could retain ownership of the team but be barred from participating in all other aspects of Phoenix’s operations, even if that would be an unprecedented and seemingly untenable situation. Three quarters of the league’s owners would have to vote Sarver out to force him to sell, but that seems unlikely because of a potential lawsuit, Lowe added.

Robert Sarver Notes: PayPal, City Of Phoenix, Silver

September 16th, 2022 at 2:33pm CST by Luke Adams

PayPal, whose logo is featured on the Suns‘ uniforms as part of the NBA’s jersey sponsorship program, issued a statement on Friday announcing that the company won’t continue its agreement with the franchise beyond the 2022/23 season as long as owner Robert Sarver remains involved with the team.

“We have reviewed the report of the NBA league’s independent investigation into Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver and have found his conduct unacceptable and in conflict with our values,” PayPal CEO and president Dan Schulman said in a statement. “PayPal’s sponsorship with the Suns is set to expire at the end of the current season. In light of the findings of the NBA’s investigation, we will not renew our sponsorship should Robert Sarver remain involved with the Suns organization, after serving his suspension.”

PayPal’s announcement comes on the heels of Jahm Najafi, one of the Suns’ vice chairmen and minority stakeholders, calling for Sarver’s resignation.

As Baxter Holmes of ESPN relays (via Twitter), Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego and some city council members also put out a statement announcing that staffers will open an investigation into the situation to see if there’s any actions that city leaders can take in response to the report on Sarver’s misconduct.

Here’s more on the Sarver saga:

While many league sources who spoke to Howard Beck of SI.com this week expressed frustration over Sarver’s relatively light punishment and commissioner Adam Silver‘s subsequent explanation, it’s possible the one-year suspension and $10MM fine won’t be the “final word,” Beck writes. As Beck observes, if NBA players, the public, and corporate sponsors continue to put pressure on the league to take stronger action, it’s possible the Suns’ minority owners and/or the other 29 team owners will in turn put pressure on Sarver to sell the team.
John Hollinger of The Athletic views Silver’s Wednesday press conference as the lowlight of his tenure as commissioner, suggesting that Silver seemed unprepared for some of the tougher questions he faced and that his performance “had the impact of pouring gasoline on a brush fire.” However, Hollinger believes that Silver could salvage the situation by spending Sarver’s one-year suspension working behind the scenes to try to get the Suns owner to sell.
Although Silver can’t force Sarver to sell his team, he could’ve imposed a suspension longer than one year on the Suns owner, Beck observes. It’s possible the NBA was wary of a potential lawsuit if it had handed Sarver a multiyear ban, Beck adds.

Suns Vice Chairman Jahm Najafi Requests Sarver’s Resignation

September 15th, 2022 at 8:21pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA’s decision to suspend Suns owner Robert Sarver for the 2022/23 season and fine him $10MM after an independent investigation determined his behavior had created a toxic workplace atmosphere received significant criticism from many important voices around the league. Prominent NBA writers and some of its best players, as well as NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio, all expressed that the punishment for Sarver was less severe than he deserved.

It appears that a figure within the team’s ownership group shares that view.

Suns vice chairman and minority owner Jahm Najafi issued a statement internally, to Suns players and employees, in response to the suspension, reports Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.

Najafi called for Sarver to step down from his ownership position in a more permanent manner, and stated that he will work to find a suitable replacement who treats all employees with equitable respect.

“There should be zero tolerance for discriminatory actions of any level, in any setting, let alone a professional one,” Najafi wrote, in part. “I cannot in good judgment sit back and allow our children and future generations of fans think that this behavior is tolerated because of wealth and privilege.

“Therefore, in accordance with my commitment to helping eradicate any form of racism, sexism and bias, as Vice Chairman of the Phoenix Suns, I am calling for the resignation of Robert Sarver,” Najafi continued. “While I have no interest in becoming the managing partner, I will work tirelessly to ensure the next team steward treats all stakeholders with dignity, professionalism and respect.”

A report earlier today indicated that both of Sarver’s basketball franchises – the Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury – will be governed by another Suns vice chairman and minority owner, Sam Garvin, during Sarver’s absence this season.

Garvin has been more sympathetic toward Sarver during this process — he was among several Suns minority stakeholders who supported Sarver’s character with a signed statement last fall.

Suns’ Garvin Appointed Interim Governor After Sarver Suspension

September 15th, 2022 at 2:51pm CST by Rory Maher

Vice chairman and minority owner Sam Garvin will serve as the interim governor of the Suns in the wake of Robert Sarver‘s one-year suspension, according to Baxter Holmes and Zach Lowe of ESPN.

Sources tell Holmes and Lowe that commissioner Adam Silver approved Garvin, who has been the team’s alternate governor since 2007, to be the interim governor on Wednesday evening. The move is effective immediately.

After Holmes published a story for ESPN last year detailing workplace misconduct allegations made against Sarver, including racist and misogynistic comments, Garvin was among the members of Phoenix’s ownership group that signed a statement defending Sarver, ESPN’s duo notes.

The law firm that conducted the investigation following Holmes’ report corroborated many of the allegations. The firm found that Sarver had used racially insensitive language in the workplace, including using the N-word when recounting – or purporting to recount – other people’s statements on at least five occasions.

The investigation also confirmed that the Suns’ owner engaged in inequitable treatment of female employees, made “many” sex-related comments in the workplace – including inappropriate comments about female employees’ physical appearances – and treated team employees in a “demeaning and harsh” manner.

However, the NBA stated that investigators “made no finding that Sarver’s workplace misconduct was motivated by racial or gender-based animus.” Obviously, that seems to run contrary to the details from the report, which has led to many around the league being critical of Sarver’s punishment, saying the sanctions fell short.

Media Day Will Be Important After Robert Sarver Decision

September 14th, 2022 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns‘ media day will be an important event to watch in the wake of the Robert Sarver suspension, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. General manager James Jones, head coach Monty Williams and all the players can set the tone for how much the incident will impact the season by how they respond on September 26. Chris Paul has already criticized Sarver’s actions on social media.

LeBron, Paul, NBPA Director React To Sarver Decision

September 14th, 2022 at 9:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA continues to receive criticism for its ruling in the Robert Sarver case, including a scathing review from its most prominent player.

In a pair of tweets tonight, LeBron James said the league “definitely got this wrong” in reference to Commissioner Adam Silver‘s decision to suspend Sarver for one year and fine him $10MM rather than taking action to force him to sell the team.

“Read through the Sarver stories a few times now,” James wrote. “I gotta be honest…Our league definitely got this wrong. I don’t need to explain why. Y’all read the stories and decide for yourself. I said it before and I’m gonna say it again, there is no place in this league for that kind of behavior. I love this league and I deeply respect our leadership. But this isn’t right. There is no place for misogyny, sexism, and racism in any work place. Don’t matter if you own the team or play for the team. We hold our league up as an example of our values and this ain’t it.”

Also reacting was Suns star Chris Paul, who agrees that Sarver deserves much stronger sanctions. Paul has largely avoided comment on the topic since the allegations against his team’s owner were made public last November, other than to stress the need to avoid letting it become a distraction. But tonight he issued a strong statement disapproving of Sarver’s behavior.

“Like many others, I reviewed the report. I was and am horrified and disappointed by what I read. This conduct especially towards women is unacceptable and must never be repeated,” Paul tweeted. “I am of the view that the sanctions fell short in truly addressing what we can all agree was atrocious behavior. My heart goes out to all of the people that were affected.” (Twitter link)

A nearly year-long investigation of Sarver determined that he used racially insensitive language in the workplace, including the N-word at least five times while recounting – or purporting to recount – statements from other people. He also treated female employees poorly, making many sex-related comments and inappropriate statements about their appearance, according to the report from the law firm that conducted the investigation.

Silver’s decision also drew a rebuke from NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio, who called Sarver’s actions “horrible” and said they “have no place in our sport or any workplace for that matter.” (Twitter link)

“Additionally, the investigation confirmed that Mr. Sarver’s deplorable behavior did not just come to light in November 2021,” she tweeted. “In fact, the report indicated Mr. Sarver’s long history of inappropriate conduct, including racial and gender insensitivity, misogyny and harassment. All issues that led to a toxic work environment for well over a decade. I have made my position known to Adam Silver regarding my thoughts on the extent of the punishment, and strongly believe that Mr. Sarver should never hold a managerial position within our league again.” (Twitter link)

Adam Silver Addresses Suspension Of Suns’ Owner

September 14th, 2022 at 6:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

The law firm that conducted the investigation into Suns owner Robert Sarver saved him a harsher penalty by determining that his use of slurs “was not motivated by racial animus,” writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Speaking after today’s Board of Governors meeting, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters that he would have imposed more serious sanctions against Sarver if not for that finding. Sarver was suspended for one year and fined $10MM following a nearly year-long investigation of his workplace behavior.

“I think if they had made findings that, in fact, his conduct was motivated by racial animus, absolutely that would have had an impact on the ultimate outcome here,” Silver said. “But that’s not what they found.”

Silver drew a distinction between Sarver’s actions and those of former Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who was banned for life and fined $2.5MM when his racist comments were brought to light in 2014. The commissioner could have imposed a longer suspension for Sarver, but the $10MM fine is the maximum allowed under league rules. Silver said there were no discussions with the Board of Governors about forcing Sarver to sell the team.

Sarver also cooperated with the investigation and issued an apology for his actions once the findings were announced. Sterling’s case was more contentious, and he eventually filed a $1 billion federal lawsuit against the NBA.

“This case is very different,” Silver said. “It’s not that one was captured on tape and the other isn’t. … Mr. Sarver ultimately acknowledged his behavior.”

Working in Sarver’s favor, Silver added, were several anonymous details that couldn’t be included in the investigative report that was released Tuesday, along with positive interviews with people that Sarver has worked with in his 18 years of owning the Suns and the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.

“There were these terrible things,” Silver said. “There are also many, many people with very positive things to say about him through this process. And ultimately, I took all of that into account in making the decision that the one-year suspension plus the fine was appropriate.”

Silver confirmed that Sarver will be welcomed back to the NBA when his suspension ends in September 2023. However, he said the league will be watching Sarver closely once he’s reinstated.

“I don’t have the right to take away his team,” Silver said. “I don’t want to rest on that legal point because of course there could be a process to take away someone’s team in this league. It’s very involved, and I ultimately made the decision that it didn’t rise to that level. But to me, the consequences are severe here on Mr. Sarver.”

Also at the press conference, Silver commented on tampering investigations involving the Knicks and Sixers, saying the actions were a result of the “tick tock chronology around sort of when signings are permissible and the announcements of those signings and the information that came out about it,” tweets Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

Silver said the investigations were launched by the league office and weren’t a result of complaints by rival teams (Twitter link). He added that the league hopes to resolve both cases “in the next few weeks.”

Robert Sarver Notes: Reactions, Next Steps, More

September 14th, 2022 at 12:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s decision to fine Suns owner Robert Sarver $10MM and suspend him for one year following the conclusion of the investigation into his workplace misconduct is “not nothing,” but it also feels lighter than it should have been, David Aldridge of The Athletic contends.

Aldridge, Sam Amick of The Athletic, and Kurt Helin of NBC Sports are among the writers who expressed confusion about the investigation’s conclusion that it was impossible to determine whether Sarver’s comments and behavior were “motivated by racial or gender-based animus.”

Sarver shouldn’t get to hide behind excuses about his sophomoric sense of humor being misunderstood, Helin writes, while Amick says the Suns owner was “routinely terrible” to women in addition to being “racially insensitive at best and outright racist at worst.”

If the NBA wants to avoid having the situation in Phoenix repeat itself within another franchise, the league should set up more checks and balances in its relationship with its teams, Amick argues. Amick also believes the NBA needs to be responsible for some of the “watchdog work” that the media has shouldered in recent years in exposing some of the league’s most toxic workplaces in Dallas and Phoenix.

Here are several more notes and reactions on the Sarver situation:

While Sarver should feel fortunate to retain ownership of the Suns, his reported resistance to the idea that he deserved a $10MM fine and one-year suspension is an indication that he hasn’t learned much from the process, says Chris Herring of SI.com. Herring suggests that the league should have implemented a zero-tolerance policy for Sarver going forward in order to “further incentivize” him to legitimately change his behavior.
A number of the current and former Suns employees who have spoken to Baxter Holmes of ESPN since Tuesday were disappointed that Sarver won’t face a more severe punishment, Holmes said during an appearance on NBA Today (video link). “I had a recent message from a current staffer who said, ‘I cannot express to you how mad and disappointed people are at the spineless nature of the NBA’s decision,'” Holmes said.
While Sarver’s behavior would have cost any normal employee his job, it’s much easier to fire an employee than to take a business away from its owner, writes Michael Rosenberg of SI.com. Trying to force Sarver out as the Suns’ owner would’ve meant a long legal battle for the NBA with a “murky chance” of winning, Rosenberg adds.
If the NBA had tried to force Sarver out, his side would’ve almost certainly responded with litigation, according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, who observes that the discovery process was something the league and the other 29 team owners likely wanted to avoid.
Sarver will work with the NBA to appoint an interim governor who will oversee the Suns during Sarver’s one-year suspension, sources tell Holmes (Twitter link).