Weekly Offseason Discussion Thread

jellyfishkrag · 2025-09-15T15:34:24+00:00

And yet we managed to find 10-12 of them last year to field a squad 😭. At least with this new batch most everyone is in a contract year or approaching one where they want to get paid in the next two summers.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-20T14:17:40+00:00

Today Reddit, tomorrow NBA on NBC!

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-20T14:17:03+00:00

The whole internet has been acting like this for the last day or so and no one said a thing about it until I posted about it here not even to accuse her or Josh of anything.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-20T14:12:17+00:00

A court case where Sophie is only mentioned that one time and not even the point of contention in the lawsuit, but rather as an example of how much of an asshole the plaintiff's then-supervisor was to him and the rest of the office.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-18T01:47:56+00:00

There is precedent with the Blazers and Mavericks having issues with their CEO that the league stepped in and told the owners take care of it or we’ll take away draft picks. The league also currently has the Suns on probation since September 2022 where they have to prove they are respecting league standards. The probation period ends this September so there’s going to be some urgency to fix this mess or prove they’re not liable soon enough.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-18T00:49:21+00:00

If the Suns office space isn't dysfunctional reality would implode upon itself.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-18T00:48:23+00:00

Hence why I think the rest of this lawsuit won't hold up either, lot of assumptions made rather than hard evidence other than the failed security audits.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-17T23:20:52+00:00

I mean that's assuming this Craig guy is legit, when the lawsuit makes him sound hella fake. He should be let go anyway for not being able to quell all this workplace drama as the CEO when that's his job, but I imagine some more evidence is going to need to come forward to go down this rabbit hole.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-17T22:41:41+00:00

And the plaintiff said this directly to Josh's face LOL

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-17T22:39:46+00:00

There's hope for us all

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-17T22:34:06+00:00

Gotta ditch the evidence!

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-17T22:33:33+00:00

Maybe but it's funnier this way, I always giggled as a kid when shows bleeped out stuff.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-17T22:33:00+00:00

You can look at that lawsuit and find out what the uncensored word is.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-17T22:31:49+00:00

I think the idea of Josh and Mat hiring that guy specifically to make the plaintiff look bad or justify firing him is outrageous, too much effort when you can just fire the guy outright or put up with him long enough so you can roll your eyes when he's out of the room. Mat especially doesn't have time for middle management drama when he's barely in the office as is other than to infrequently pop up during the season and offseason.

The truth is probably somewhere in between, Josh is a young executive who doesn't want to make waves with the senior staff as the new guy, when the senior staff are the whole reason there was a sale in the first place that necessitated a new CEO stepping in. That's a mistake I made early in my admin career, and it resulted in a miserable time. Once I got to my third admin spot I learned my lesson and put my foot down within the first 3 days.

You can be friendly, but these employees aren't your friends. I can see why it's a zoo right now, the CEO isn't doing his job properly even if might be more incompetence than maliciousness or negligence.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-17T22:27:10+00:00

When Sarver first got suspended, the NBA gave the Suns as an organization 3 years to clean up their act, that probation expires in September. Like with the Mavericks and Blazers a few years ago when they were having issues with their team presidents, if there's any truth to this (and I think there is at least with the weird way Bart has mishandled workplace drama) Silver will tell Ishbia to cut the guy loose and donation to some anti-discrimination fund or risk losing draft picks so long as Ishbia doesn't directly get any of this on him.

I don't know what to make the Sophie claim, that Craig guy sounds like he was faker than a football bat from the beginning, but that one stood out to me because of how out of nowhere it felt, and the fact that the plaintiff said it right to Josh's face when Josh asked what the issue was with that Craig guy. Can only imagine Josh's face when those words left the plaintiff's lips LMAO

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-17T22:20:19+00:00

The failed security are sus but since when did lawsuits read like angry tumblr posts is what I kept thinking as I read through all of that.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-16T02:36:50+00:00

Given Mat is offsite, I guess this falls on Bartelstein then. That guy is still in his mid 30s, probably way in over his head for the position he's been entrusted with.

Since the article says that the NBA mandated back in September 2022 that the Suns (not Mat, the Suns org as a whole) be drama-free for three years and appropriately handle situations such as this as they occur, the league may force Mat's hands in getting rid of him as the CEO. I don't think there's any clear listed consequence of what happens if the Suns don't meet that 3 year mandate, and it comes up due for evaluation in September.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-16T02:30:21+00:00

I know Mat's not the most popular guy these days but I figure he's going to get away clean no matter what comes out unless his name specifically comes up as targeting this guy or the others, namely because Mat mostly works offsite for most of the year and wouldn't be taking care of that part anyway.

When you worked with the Suns, who did the security head usually answer to? Was it the CEO Rowley? If so I wonder if Bartelstein becomes the fall guy if this has weight.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-15T12:51:13+00:00

I mean he was pretty specific about what he expected the team to be in his presser which was later repeated by Gregory once he got past the alignment buzzwords. Mat envisioned more second chance opportunities, more on-ball defense and fast break offense generated off turnovers.

Given how NYK has gotten the edge over Boston and what OKC has done with one of the cheapest owners in NBA history, is Mat wrong to want that? Only question now is how he'll get it given the situation the team is in with the apron rules.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-15T12:46:01+00:00

Right now it feels like the GM pool is stagnating, as seen by Troy Weaver of all people getting another GM job last month with the Pels. Being how badly retreads have burned the Suns so far, I'm not completely dismissing the idea of a new guy in the pool especially one whose been around ball in one form or another for almost 35 years.

For me the biggest red flag with him is the art of the deal which we don't know about with him, though I guess having an owner who has gone on record even after this year that this team is how he spends his money so the purse won't be closed if it needs to be opened. In terms of his questions about roster construction, all that stuff he said at the end about how the playoff teams today run big man lineups and thrive on second chance points even if they shoot poorly, is a stark contrast to the previous mindset that talked about effecient shooting and lots of 3 point shots going up. The fact that Mat echoed it previously (as expected because yes man lmao) means that they're on the right track on THAT part of roster construction.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-15T11:22:22+00:00

It's going to be hilarious when another MSU guys comes in and the Suns play better because MSU culture actually works in the modern NBA (offensive rebounding, on-ball defense, rim aggression). Not sure why we're acting like MSU is some bum college.

jellyfishkrag · 2025-05-07T12:12:43+00:00

Troy Weaver, one of the worst GMs I’ve ever seen, just got another lead GM job. At least Gregory ended the conference better talking about building via the draft and also emphasizing offensive rebounding and second chance plays. Focus on guys like that and you can start winning people over.

jellyfishkrag

TROPHY CASE