Suns owner Mat Ishbia bucking NBA franchise sales trend

Legal and financial difficulties may have forced Mark Walter to sell the Los Angeles Lakers. Amid his own financial difficulties, Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia is going the opposite way.

Ishbia's company, United Wholesale Mortgage, lost $452M in the second quarter of this year. Still, Ishbia plans to increase his share of the team and buy out the two largest minority owners.

Phoenix Suns and their owner continue to go all-in

Ishbia used stock in UWM as collateral for the loan he used to buy the Suns in 2023. That stock has declined in value by 70 percent since then, which could force Ishbia into expensive margin calls. UWM received a $1.5B investment earlier in the month, further increasing the debt load on Ishbia.

However, Ishbia doesn't appear to be in as much personal peril as his company might be. He contributed $550M from his family's holding company to UWM this month. While UWM has stopped issuing dividends during its crisis, Ishbia and his family have reportedly already received billions in dividends over the years, suggesting his cash position is solid.

Ishbia hasn't been afraid to mortgage the future with his NBA team either. Right after he took over the team, the Suns traded Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson and four first-round picks, plus a swap, for Kevin Durant. They traded six second-rounders and four pick swaps to get Bradley Beal, then traded more pick swaps and a valuable 2031 first to restock with lower-quality picks.

This summer, they traded another future first to get Miles Bridges, meaning the only future first-round pick they control is in 2032. Clearly, Ishbia isn't worried about his future obligations coming due.

Phoenix Suns owner taking full control of franchise

Ishbia bought out most of the Suns' many minority shareholders when he purchased the team from disgraced former owner Robert Sarver. Two of the remaining owners sued Ishbia and were countersued last year, but the case is moving to binding mediation that's expected to determine how much Ishbia will pay to buy their shares.

That means that, much like his mortgage company, Ishbia and his family members will own nearly all the shares of the Suns. Ishbia doesn't have to answer to anyone else, since there aren't any other shareholders.

Other NBA owners are cashing out. Ishbia continues to go all-in.