Suns Notes: Ishbia, Lee, Paul, VanVleet

January 19, 2023 at 8:32 PM CST by Dana Gauruder

Brothers Mat and Justin Ishbia reached an agreement last month to buy majority stakes in the Suns and Mercury of the WNBA. Ishbia attended Phoenix’s game against Brooklyn on Thursday and is already influencing the team’s approach to the trade deadline, Shams Charania said on The Rally (video link).

“I’m told that ever since Mat Ishbia and his announcement that he’s going to take over Suns ownership came out, the Suns have actually informed teams that they’re willing to move a first-round pick and potentially take a salary. long-term for good players,” said Charania.

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They must decide on Friday whether to offer Saben Lee another 10-day contract. Coach Monty Williams strongly supports keeping Lee on the roster, tweets Gerald Bourguet of GoPhnx.com. “I hope to keep him because he brings something we need,” Williams said. Going into Thursday’s game, Lee had appeared in three games with Phoenix, averaging 10.0 points and 3.0 assists in 19 minutes per game. They decided to sit Chris Paul on Thursday even though he practiced Wednesday, tweets Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “He did everything yesterday. It was just a decision that was made,” Williams said. They’ve been mentioned as a potential free agent destination for Raptors guard Fred VanVleet, but as Bourguet explains in detail, that doesn’t seem feasible. The Suns don’t have the cap space to sign VanVleet in free agency and would have to blow up the roster to make a sign and trade. Trading for him before next month’s deadline in a bid to re-sign him for maximum money also seems unwise, given their salary issues and especially if Paul remains on the roster as a starter.