Suns owner says G League team will be great for fans
Thursday was the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury organizations’ launch of owner Mat Ishbia’s latest brainchild; “Player 15 Group” business headquarters. The headquarters are located in the Warehouse District, just south of downtown Phoenix’s Footprint Center.
The “Player 15” title not only might refer to Ishbia as a former Michigan State basketball walk-on, but can also point to the Suns’ new G-League team and the Suns’ pair of two-way contract players at the bottom of the 15-man roster.
The Suns’ former Prescott-based G League team—the Northern Arizona Suns—was sold by the organization’s previous owner Robert Sarver to the Detroit Pistons in 2021, then renamed the Pistons’ Motor City Cruise.
Phoenix became the only NBA team without a G League team, but Ishbia made clear fairly soon after becoming owner in 2023 that likely, that would change.
The team in February confirmed it would have a new G League team slated to begin next season.
The G League is designed as a developmental platform for NBA teams in the offseason. Younger players who were on the NBA team roster but saw limited playing time often join other prospects on the team.
The February announcement said the team would play its home games in the Phoenix metro area, with more details expected this spring.
“Really excited. It’s a no-brainer,” Ishbia said about bring back a Suns’ G League team. “It’s all about investing in our people, right? The G League is great for players and great for fans to see a different type of basketball in the city . ...
“But the G League is, you need that to develop players, coaches, trainers, like everything. And so to not have a development program and a player development is a mistake, and that’s why we’re really excited. (Suns CEO) Josh (Bartelstein) did a great job to bring it back here. We’re gonna launch that here very soon.”
Bartelstein led the media tour of the new business headquarters, part of a campus that also will include a new Phoenix Mercury training facility.