In a recent appearance on the Backyard podcast, Suns star Devin Booker admitted that he thought the stars were aligned for him to join the Heat as a rookie in 2015. According to Booker, he was already looking for places to live nearby before realizing he was going to the Suns instead.
“I was hoping to go to Miami. Miami was my best workout and then Pat Riley came and did an interview and said ‘We’re looking for a Klay Thompson-type player, we need to up our shooting.’ I just shot 40% in college I’m looking like ‘Oh yeah I’m looking at spots right by the arena.'”
Devin Booker says he thought the Heat were going to draft him, and he was already looking for places to live close to the arena 👀
(🎥 @The_BackyardPod / h/t @coopoorme )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 3, 2024
Booker was drafted by the Suns with the 13th overall pick in 2015. After an impressive season at Kentucky, where he averaged 10.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game on 47% shooting, he emerged on the national radar as one of the top prospects of his class.
In the aftermath of LeBron James’ departure, the Miami Heat earned the 10th pick that summer and they considered it a crucial chance to build a contender in the East. And with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh going into the final stage of their careers, they needed some fresh young legs to help build a better future.
As a young and eccentric sharpshooter, Booker checked all the boxes for the Heat and he would have made a fine addition in the backcourt. But instead of making the move, the Heat chose to pick Justise Winslow instead, who only lasted a few seasons before being sent somewhere else.
Booker wouldn’t get picked duntil three posts later, when the Suns finally called his name to walk the stage. Ever since, Booker has proven himself as a superstar in the highest degree. Not only is he a 4x All-Star in the league, he’s also a starter for Team USA in the Olympics this summer.
Looking back it’s hard to say what would be different had the Heat drafted Booker. They would have likely handed him the keys pretty quickly, and Dwyane Wade himself would have been tasked with mentoring the young shooting guard to maximize his game.
Once he ascended to stardom, Devin would have become the face of Heat culture and team executive Pat Riley likely would have pulled all the tricks to get him some help.
Alas, none of it was meant to be for the 27-year-old from Michigan. The Suns were the ones who believed in Booker and they’ve seen that faith rewarded through the loyalty of Booker, one of the NBA’s top young scorers.
Now, the Suns owe it to their guy to do whatever they can in pursuit of a title. Already, team owner Mat Ishbia has made some ground-breaking trades to bring in Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and others. He also brought in championship coach Mike Budenholzer to instill his well-respected gameplan.
Ultimately, however, it falls on Booker to carry the Suns to prosperity. With just one Finals appearance on his record so far, Booker will have a lot to prove next season and the pressure will be on him to get the Suns over the top and finally have a breakout moment in the playoffs.
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