Chris Paul was shocked by his trade, just like you were. The future Hall of Famer is reportedly being shipped to Washington in the Bradley Beal trade and could potentially be on the move again after that. Clearly, he’s not thrilled with it.
But what might be most shocking isn’t even that Paul was traded. It might be the people involved in the decision-making process. At the very least, it’s super confusing.
Mat Ishbia has mostly been running the team since he purchased the Suns. But, in an interview with The New York Times, Paul hinted that Ishbia is being advised by his friend and Hall of Fame point guard, Isiah Thomas.
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Paul mentioned Thomas’ name as a decision-maker multiple times in the interview.
“It’s just — it’s tough. Seriously, it is part of the business, and what you realize is that no one owes you anything. No matter how you are with them or what you do, you realize that in this business, nobody owes you anything, as it should be.
“But when it comes through and my son texts me, I realize that, you know, Mat and Isiah, I guess, just wanted to go in a different direction.”
To be clear, Thomas hasn’t actually been hired by the Suns in any official capacity.
He is friends with Ishbia, however. And when Ishbia purchased the team in February, it was rumored that Thomas would get a front office role with the team. The Suns refuted the reporting initially. Now, he seems to have some sort of role. At least, that’s what Paul would have us believe.
From an organizational standpoint, it’s just messy. James Jones is the general manager of the Suns. Ultimately, he has to make decisions for the team. But if Thomas is truly in on that decision-making process, it can muddle things up quite a bit. We saw the shadow GM workplace dynamic play out in Dallas a few seasons ago and it was disastrous.
On top of that, though, and more importantly, this completely undermines the cultural reset the Suns are supposed to be having. Robert Sarver was forced to sell the team behind allegations of workplace misconduct. Isiah Thomas might be a brilliant basketball mind, but he was also accused of sexual harassment by front-office employee Anucha Browne Sanders while working for the Knicks in 2007. The case settled out of court and both Thomas and the Knicks denied the claims, but that history doesn’t go away.
It’s hard to say what’s real and what’s not when it comes to the Suns’ decision-making these days. James Jones seems to just be along for the ride at this point. Whether that works out, in the long run, remains to be seen.
