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Baxter Holmes
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Adrian Wojnarowski
Billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia’s purchase of a majority stake in the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury at a $4 billion valuation is expected to become official in the next two weeks, with Ishbia assuming control before the Feb. 9 NBA trade deadline, team and league sources told ESPN.
The NBA’s board of governors is expected to ratify Ishbia’s purchase with a vote in early February, sources said.
Although the league suspended former Suns majority owner Robert Sarver in September after a 10-month NBA investigation into his conduct as owner, he has retained authority over the signing, acquisition or trade of any player with a salary in excess of the leaguewide average player salary, sources said.
The current average player salary is $10.8 million, and the salary of disgruntled forward Jae Crowder, whom the team hasn’t found a deal for, is $10.2 million.
Ishbia becoming the team’s official owner by the Feb….
