Vote on sale reveals feud between new Suns owner, Cavaliers owner

Ishbia is a former Michigan State walk-on and NCAA champion who made his billions with his family's company, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM). He and his brother Justin bought the Suns from Robert Sarver for $4 billion, and the NBA's board of governors approved the sale Monday night.

All  the owners expect Gilbert, a rival of Ishbia in the world of mortgage lending, voted in favor of the sale. Gilbert is the founder of Quicken Loans, now Rocket Mortgage, which is located in Detroit, just 30 miles away from UWM's headquarters in Pontiac, Mich.

The two men were already business rivals, but Ishbia escalated the rivalry by giving his brokers an ultimatum: Stop working with Rocket Mortgage and Fairway Independent Mortgage, or they could no longer work with UWM.

According to the Detroit Free Press:

Ishbia specifically accused Rocket of paying real estate agents to cut out competing brokers and instead refer clients to Rocket’s team, and of soliciting brokers' past clients rather than working with those other brokers.

The feud has continued since then, with Ishbia ripping Rocket Mortgage for "disgusting" layoffs last May (since the company made $5 billion in profits), Rocket announcing it would cover penalties and fees for any brokers trying to defy UWM's ultimatum, and a truly bizarre story involving Ishbia and a Rocket executive's spouse.

Anthony Casa, the CEO of a partner of UWM, the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts, sent a string of explicit texts and video clips alleging that the wife of a Rocket executive VP had a relationship with Ishbia. She sued Casa for defamation.

All this is to say that we shouldn't expect any deals between the Cavaliers and Suns any time soon. It's also a testament to the NBA owners' unity — and Adam Silver's leadership — that despite his intense professional animosity, Gilbert still didn't vote no, merely abstained.

It's a good sign for the ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations — just as long as the CBA doesn't mention mortgages.