Phoenix Suns General Manager Brian Gregory is keeping his right-hand man around for the foreseeable future, as Suns and Mercury CEO Josh Bartelstein is finalizing a new extension to keep him working with the team on the business and basketball side, according to ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charania.
With the extension being announced, Suns Governor Mat Ishbia gave Bartelstein high praise in a statement he gave to ESPN.
“From day one, I knew Josh was the right person to help build the culture and organization that I envisioned in Phoenix – on and off the court. He is my trusted partner in every aspect of our basketball (Suns and Mercury) operations and business side as well. His knowledge of basketball, care for our players, and the strong relationships he has across the NBA and WNBA have been invaluable in building our success and will continue to shape our future. His leadership has elevated our entire organization.
“He is one of the best CEO’s in all of sports, and happens to be one of the youngest too, and I’m excited to keep working next to Josh as we continue to build on our success.”
A former college basketball player at the University of Michigan, Bartelstein, who’s been with the Suns since 2023, played a major part in the team trading for Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic in his first year working with the team. With his father Mark being Beal’s agent, much was made about the relationship Josh had with his father to negotiate the trade, along with his buyout last offseason.
However, after a season in which the team surprised many by increasing its win total by 9 games and making the playoffs after missing them the season before, Ishbia and company rewarded Bartelstein with an extension. The Phoenix Suns have already had a busy offseason by resigning many of their free agents, trading for Miles Bridges, signing Luke Kennard and Pat Spencer, making a deal to draft Koa Peat with the 30th pick, and now extending Bartelstein.
