Robert Sarver Never Beloved By Fans

Robert Sarver purchased the Phoenix Suns for a then-record $401 million in 2004. He bought the Suns the same year Steve Nash was traded back to the team. Adding Nash to a team that already had Sean Marion, Amare Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, Quentin Richardson, and Leandro Barbosa off the bench led to a 33-game improvement in wins. The Suns made the Western Conference Finals two of the first five years of Sarver’s ownership.

Trading Joe Johnson to the Atlanta Hawks caused fans to turn on him initially. Fans believed him a cheapskate owner because of his failure to resign Johnson. Suns players thought the team was close to an NBA title with Johnson. Boris Diaw proved to be a decent addition to the Suns but he was not the scorer Johnson was. Diaw wound up being a better fit for the San Antonio Spurs.

Anger With Suns Owner Grew With Playoff Drought

Before the 2020-21 season Phoenix missed the playoffs ten years in a row. Like the Steve Nash trade, the Suns acquiring Chris Paul changed the Suns’ fortunes. Hiring Monty Williams as coach and James Jones as GM helped as well.

Before the three of them, the best player on the Suns was Devin Booker. The most wins the Suns had in his first four seasons was 24. Analysts saw him as an empty stats player but there was very little support around him. Drafting Deandre Ayton, trading for Mikal Bridges on draft night, and acquiring Jae Crowder from the Boston Celtics finally got the Suns back to the playoffs. The Suns made the NBA Finals in 2020-21 for only the third time ever.

Behind Closed Doors, Sarver Showed His True Colors

While Sarver may not have spent money before Jones was hired as GM it really was who behind the scenes is forcing him to sell. Baxter Holmes of espn.com documented the allegations against Sarver from the very beginning. Allegations include asking why he could not say the N-word and his treatment overall of women. One incident that stands out is when he passed around a picture of his wife in a bikini. No one who saw the photo understood why he would show that to other employees, particularly women in the front office.

After the NBA investigated Sarver they suspended him for a year and fined him $10 million. It was not enough for Lebron James or Chris Paul. Both tweeted about the suspension saying they believed it was not enough.

These allegations, along with the public pressure, led to the owner’s decision to sell. Given the Sun’s lack of success most of the time he was owner, and how he was perceived before the ESPN report, Suns fans will not miss him. The question for the team is what comes next, regarding ownership? The Suns are valued at $1.8 billion currently. Fans and players hope for someone who will spend to win a title and represent the organization better to the NBA and community.

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