PHOENIX — Mat Ishbia had the energy of a thousand suns Monday.
Introduced to the Valley in February, Ishbia enters his first full season as Phoenix Suns owner following an ambitious offseason of roster moves that included acquiring Bradley Beal and trading Deandre Ayton.
"We want to be the best organization in all of sports," Ishbia said. "Anything to make us better, we're going to do.
"We analyzed every free agent, every possibility, we targeted people and we got the guys we wanted. Some of them, it surprised (people) that we could get them, but they were so excited to be a part of a championship team."
A championship is something that's eluded the franchise since its inception in 1968, but after a decade-long stretch of missing the playoffs, the Suns have advanced to the Western Conference semifinals in each of the past two seasons after a trip to the NBA Finals in 2021.
Frank Vogel takes over as head coach after a four-year stint leading the Los Angeles Lakers, who won the NBA Finals in Vogel's first year at the helm. He'll be in charge of taking an elite offensive lineup featuring Devin Booker and Kevin Durant and balancing it with his knowledge of the defensive side of the game.
"We're more offensively-talented than defensively-talented, but we have guys who really compete and are winners," Vogel said. "We're going to be a group that has a very intelligent defensive scheme.
"Our guys will be very well-prepared from game to game. I think our ceiling is very high on what we can be on the defensive side of the ball, but our guys have got to put in the work."
Booker, the lone remaining player from the 2021 NBA Finals runners-up team, and Durant are two of six returning players from the 2022-23 roster. The Ayton trade to Portland resulted in the additions of Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson.
Earlier this summer, the Suns picked up Beal and Jordan Goodwin from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Chris Paul and Landry Shamet. Eight players were added via free agency.
Basically, lots of change for a team expected to make a deep playoff run.
"I want the team goal to be louder than my own," said Beal. "I've scored so many points, I've been an All-Star, but there's just one more box I wanna check. Obviously I'm still competitive, but I want to hold (my goals) close to my chest."
The Suns begin the regular season Tue., Oct. 24, on the road against the Golden State Warriors.
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