Dear Mr. Sarver,

I’ve come to bargain. I don’t have much money or any worthwhile negotiating skills, but I have a lot of passion. I think we can find some common ground, too, despite all our differences.

I can’t fathom how difficult it can get to run a professional team, nor will I ever. But I certainly can fathom what it’s like to be a suffering fan of a sports team that can, at times, feel directionless. My own brother described being a Suns fan to his barber as “torturing [him]self.”

In my time as a Suns fan (since I was about 10, so the end of Steve Nash’s run with the team; I’m apologetically young), I’ve invested myself so heavily into this team to the point of shedding tears – both of elation and despair. I remember Steve Nash leaving the team for the Lakers, I remember the 48-win team that had no business winning 48 wins (but still missing the playoffs), I remember the three-headed point guard experiment, I remember the night Devin Booker was drafted and the night he scored 70 at the Boston Garden, I remember the lottery where the team got their first ever number one draft pick and the night they made Deandre Ayton a Sun.

We are both very big fans of the team, Mr. Sarver, and I’m sure it’s an understatement to suggest that we both want nothing but the best for the team. The problem is the Suns are in their worst 8-year stretch in their 50+ season history.

I am in the business of calling a spade a spade, Mr. Sarver. Your involvement has only been detrimental to the growth of the basketball team. From draft night trades to point guard hypotheticals, your meddling has kept the front office’s basketball people from making the correct basketball decisions.

I am pleading with you from a position of ultimate desperation. I love the Suns, but they tear my heart out very often, and the entire city – not only myself – believes you are largely due to blame.

The way I see it is you have a few options, Mr. Sarver.

– One option is to just straight up sell the team. Now you’ve already denied having any desire to do this, but it would still be very financially beneficial to take this route, as – even with where the team is right now – the Suns would certainly be worth at least $1.5 billion, and that’s a lowball number considering the Clippers sold for $2 billion when their previous owner, Donald Sterling, was forced to sell after racist clips came out.

– Another option would be to take a more laissez-faire approach to your dealings with the team and let the basketball people make the basketball decisions and stick to just making business decisions, such as the arena renovation funding you’re currently dealing with.

I’m afraid for you, Mr. Sarver. I’m afraid for you because if you don’t take either of these options, you may end up in a position where you are forced out by Commissioner Silver, which would not only force you into a position where you take less money, but it would also tarnish your legacy past the point of recovery.

But I promise you it’s not too late to turn this thing around. Not too late for you, not too late for the team, and not too late for the fans of this great city.

Sincerely,

Damon Allred.

P.S. Thank you for not further helping LeBron James and the Lakers by trading Trevor Ariza there.