Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Sarver, Sale Reaction, Lakers, Kings

September 21st, 2022 at 6:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Robert Sarver has announced his intention to sell the Suns and the NBA’s Phoenix Mercury, but it’s not likely to be a fast process, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Sources tell Shelburne that it could take months to go through the process of getting a new ownership group in place. Sarver has been suspended for a full year, so vice chairman and minority owner Sam Garvin will continue to run the team until a sale is complete.

Although Sarver only owns about one-third of the franchise, he has the authority to sell the team because of his role as managing partner, sources tell Baxter Holmes of ESPN (Twitter link). Sarver, who has owned the Suns since 2004, is expected to profit significantly from the sale, with the potential price possibly topping $2 billion.

Appearing on NBA Today (video link), Holmes relayed a statement from one Suns staff member that read, “To be honest it just felt like justice! Like we can finally heal and know we won’t be working under that type of leadership. I swear there will be tears when senior executives are held accountable!”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Commissioner Adam Silver and NBPA president CJ McCollum have both endorsed Sarver’s choice. “I fully support the decision by Robert Sarver to sell the Phoenix Suns and Mercury,” Silver tweeted shortly after Sarver’s announcement. “This is the right next step for the organization and community.” McCollum echoed those thoughts in his statement, writing, “We thank Mr. Sarver for making a swift decision that was in the best interest of our sports community.”
The Lakers‘ trade talks with the Pacers continued this week, but they’re not willing to meet Indiana’s demand of two unprotected first-round picks, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (video link). The Pacers have been seen as a possible destination for Russell Westbrook, with L.A. hoping to land Myles Turner and Buddy Hield in return. The Lakers only have two first-rounders that they can offer — in 2027 and 2029 — and Charania expects the team to be cautious about moving them. He points out that L.A. has a “long runway” with Westbrook and can wait to see how the season plays out rather than rushing into a deal. Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said earlier today that Turner will be with the team when the season begins.
Kings general manager Monte McNair has constructed this year’s roster around two players on their second NBA contracts, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, notes James Ham of Kings Beat. Ham says it’s a welcome change from continually trying to build the franchise around young prospects.

Robert Sarver To Seek Buyer For Suns

September 21st, 2022 at 11:42am CST by Luke Adams

Suns owner Robert Sarver has begun the process of seeking a buyer for his NBA franchise, as well as the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, he announced today in a statement.

Following the recent conclusion of an investigation into allegations made by current and former Suns employees, Sarver received a one-year suspension and was fined $10MM for workplace misconduct, including racist and misogynistic comments.

In today’s statement, Sarver said that his remarks and actions, as described in that investigation, now overshadow the work he has done with the Suns, the Mercury, and professional basketball in Phoenix.

“I do not want to be a distraction to these two teams and the fine people who work so hard to bring the joy and excitement of basketball to fans around the world,” Sarver said. “I want what’s best for these two organizations, the players, the employees, the fans, the community, my fellow owners, the NBA and the WNBA. This is the best course of action for everyone.”

While Sarver claimed that he “deeply” regrets the comments he made to employees and plans to “work on becoming a better person,” the statement also paints him as a victim — he expressed disappointment that he wouldn’t be able to “make amends” and return to the Suns following his one-year ban.

“In our current unforgiving climate, it has become painfully clear that that is no longer possible – that whatever good I have done, or could still do, is outweighed by things I have said in the past,” Sarver said. “For those reasons, I am beginning the process of seeking buyers for the Suns and Mercury.”

The one-year suspension and $10MM fine levied against Sarver by the NBA was widely viewed as insufficient, with stars like LeBron James and Suns guard Chris Paul among those who expressed a belief that the league’s sanctions fell short. NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio subsequently stated that the players’ union felt as if Sarver should be banned from the league for life.

There was concern that imposing an indefinite ban on Sarver or attempting to force him out as the Suns’ owner would open the door to an ugly legal battle for the NBA. Sarver’s decision to willingly sell the franchise should bail out the league and his fellow owners, who would have had to vote to remove him if the NBA attempted to force him to sell.

Even if Sarver feels has no other choice but to sell, he stands to financially benefit in a major way. He bought the Suns for $401MM in 2004. Recent estimates from Forbes and Sportico projected the current value of the franchise at approximately $1.8-1.9 billion.

Those valuations have historically undershot a team’s true value, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Suns ultimately sell for $2 billion or more. As Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets, league executives have long felt that Phoenix – a warm-weather destination not far from the West Coast – could become a “monster” free agent destination with the right ownership group in place.

Frank Jackson Signs With Suns

September 21st, 2022 at 6:44am CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 21: Jackson officially signed with the Suns on Tuesday, per RealGM’s NBA transaction log.

SEPTEMBER 20: The Suns are signing free agent guard Frank Jackson to a non-guaranteed contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Jackson, 24, has five years of NBA experience, though he missed his entire rookie season due to a foot injury. He was an early second-round pick in 2017 and spent his first three NBA seasons with the Pelicans. He played the last two seasons with the Pistons.

Jackson averaged 9.8 PPG in 40 games during his first season in Detroit and made 40.7% of his 3-point tries. He averaged a career-best 10.6 PPG in 53 games last season but his 3-point shooting cratered to 30.8%.

He became a free agent in late June when Detroit declined its $3.15MM option on Jackson’s contract. He’ll now get a chance to make the Suns’ roster.

The Suns only had 16 players under contract, including a pair of two-way players, so they can be expected to make more roster moves before training camp with camp rosters maxing out at 20.

Suns Rumors: Crowder, Payroll, Bogdanovic, Johnson

September 20th, 2022 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

As team owner Robert Sarver begins serving his year-long ban from the NBA, the Suns‘ front office continues to explore ways to upgrade the team’s roster before the regular season gets underway. Appearing on ESPN’s NBA Today (video link), Brian Windhorst confirmed that the Suns are active in trade discussions, with many of those talks involving forward Jae Crowder.

“(They’ve been) very active within this last week. They are conducting business, they’re in trade negotiations right now. A lot of them are centered around Jae Crowder,” Windhorst said. “Jae Crowder is a player who is available on the market right now. Whether or not there’s going to be a deal for him that materializes between now and next week’s trade deadline, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Obviously, this season’s trade deadline won’t arrive until February, but Windhorst may be suggesting that the Suns will see if they can get something done before training camps begin.

Crowder, whose name has been mentioned in trade rumors off and on throughout the offseason, is in the final year of his current contract. The 32-year-old will earn approximately $10.2MM in 2022/23 before becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Here’s more on the Suns:

Sources who have spoken recently to Windhorst don’t get the sense that the Suns are unwilling to increase their payroll by taking back more salary than they send out in a trade. General manager James Jones and his front office won’t be bringing deals directly to Sarver to approve this season, but interim governor Sam Garvin presumably has a sense of how much the Suns owner is prepared to spend on the roster. Team salary is already well above the luxury tax line.
While Windhorst doesn’t explicitly confirm any specific trade targets for the Suns, he says he wouldn’t be surprised if the team makes a play for Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic. Phoenix’s interest in Bogdanovic has been previously reported, though a handful of teams are believed to be eyeing the veteran, who is on an expiring deal.
Windhorst also confirms that the Suns are engaged in rookie scale extension talks with sharpshooter Cameron Johnson. The two sides have until October 17 to reach a deal. If Johnson hasn’t signed an extension by that point, he’ll be on track for restricted free agency in 2023.

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.