NBA Rumors: Isiah Thomas Has 'Informally' Advised Suns, Wasn't Involved in Beal Trade

Basketball Hall of Fame guard Isiah Thomas, who has served as an adviser to the Phoenix Suns, reportedly was not involved in the recruitment and subsequent trade of star guard Bradley Beal.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst relayed that news:

"Thomas has spent time in Phoenix informally advising the Suns' front office, sources said, but that has reduced in recent weeks as Ishbia added to his front office. Thomas was not part of the Beal recruitment and subsequent trade, sources said. Thomas has been at the NBA 2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas working for NBA TV and has spent time with Suns executives."

Beal went from the Washington Wizards to the Suns in a deal that (temporarily) brought 12-time All-Star guard Chris Paul to D.C. before he was sent to the Golden State Warriors. Last month, Paul implied in an interview with Sopan Deb of the New York Times that Thomas had influence over the deal alongside new Suns governor Mat Ishbia.

"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 [Ishbia] and Isiah [Thomas], I guess, just wanted to go in a different direction."

According to Windhorst, Ishbia and Thomas are "close friends," and Thomas even sits on the board of Ishbia's mortgage company, United Wholesale Mortgage.

Regardless of Thomas' level of influence on the Suns' decisions, it's abundantly clear that Ishbia is a hands-on owner who's prominently involved in the team's direction. Windhorst summarized how that's looked thus far.

"Less than six months in with several massive and gutsy deals that he piloted already under his belt, Ishbia has let it be known how he is going to run the Suns: aggressively and from the front.

"Ishbia, 43, was audacious in building the business empire that allowed him to pay a $4 billion valuation for the Suns. He was audacious in his first day in the role when he negotiated directly with current Nets owner Joe Tsai in a blockbuster deal to land superstar Kevin Durant. He was audacious when he severed ties with his cable partner in an effort to move Suns games to free TV. And he was audacious in going for Beal, trading the last of the Suns' available draft assets and blowing into the newly-created "second apron" of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement that was supposed to deter superteam building."

In addition to the Beal trade, the Suns also changed coaches, hiring Frank Vogel in place of Monty Williams. Phoenix also retooled its roster outside the quartet of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Beal and Deandre Ayton, adding players such as Keita Bates-Diop, Drew Eubanks and Eric Gordon.

We'll soon find out how this new Suns team comes together in Ishbia's first full season as the governor. For now, the team is finishing out summer league play in Las Vegas.