Consider the White Sox as gone!

Potential White Sox owner Justin Ishbia might not be all he's cracked up to be
Consider the cautionary tale that is the NBA’s Suns, for whom Justin is a part-owner.
By Steve Greenberg
Jun 5, 2025, 6:28pm CDT




Justin Ishbia and his wife Kristen sit courtside at a Bulls game in February.

When you root for a team that hasn’t won a playoff series in 20 years and its next opportunity isn’t visible on the horizon, you’re not accustomed to having reason to celebrate.

Which explains why fans are greeting the news that billionaire Justin Ishbia is in line to be the White Sox’ next owner — taking over from Jerry Reinsdorf as soon as 2029, according to the team — as though it were a division championship, an American League pennant, a World Series crown and a free sausage-and-giardiniera pie from Vito & Nick’s all rolled into one.

Finally!

Spending competitively on players: Yes, please.

Hiring top-notch personnel bosses and managers: If only.

Winning: Good Lord, make it so.

But — and you should have known there would be a ‘‘but’’ because these are the Sox we’re talking about — be careful what you wish for.

Consider the cautionary tale that is the NBA’s Suns.

Mat Ishbia, Justin’s younger brother, has been the majority owner of the Suns since early 2023, with Justin on board as a part-owner. Those roles will flip-flop with the Sox, assuming things fall into place as planned.

In two-plus years since the Ishbias took hold of pro basketball in the desert — they own the WNBA’s Mercury, too — the Suns have fired coach Monty Williams, then fired his replacement, Frank Vogel, after one season and then fired Vogel’s replacement, Mike Budenholzer, after one season.

Even more whiplash-inducing than that, president of basketball operations James Jones was fired last month — after the Suns’ first losing season since 2019-20 — and Brian Gregory, who has no front-office experience, was handed the reins as general manager. You might recognize Gregory’s name from his 19 seasons as coach at Dayton, Georgia Tech and South Florida, which he led to a grand total of two NCAA Tournaments. Before that, he was an assistant coach at Michigan State, where one of his players was a walk-on named Mat Ishbia.

And the reported successor to the Suns’ coaching crazy train? That would be Jordan Ott, who never has been a head coach but, of seeming importance to his cause, also worked in the basketball program at — and has a degree from — Michigan State.

It all sounds like madness for a team that’s desperately trying to trade an all-time great in Kevin Durant.

And considering Reinsdorf’s penchant for surrounding himself with loyalists and his recent elevation of Chris Getz all the way to GM, it all sounds kind of like the Sox.

The move to Nashville has been the plan all along.