The aftermath of the Kevin Durant trade from the Suns has not been smooth for either the player or his former team. Days after Durant called out the Suns for leaving a bad taste in his mouth with the trade, even the team owner claimed that Durant was not a good fit for what they were trying to build.
Now, the Suns’ star player, Devin Booker, has also triggered uproar on social media with his comments about the superteam era with Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant. The Rockets’ forward saw the response to Booker’s comments from Suns fans on social media and saw how many fans started pointing at him as the cause. He decided to call out a fan who referred to him as a “locker room cancer.”
“Rage bait,” wrote Durant as he probably chuckled at his phone, seeing that he is living ‘rent-free’ in Suns fans’ heads. But the question now is, what did Booker say, and are the fans misunderstanding what he was trying to say?
During an interview with Arizona Sports, Devin Booker spoke about the last two years with the Suns and how they were the hardest phase of his career, even more than his initial years in the league.
“I mean, a lot has to go wrong for it to fall off that drastically. But I think it makes you appreciate more the details of the game, the chemistry of the game, the relationships that you know matter off the court to on the court,” said Booker initially.
“You’ve seen, you know, with our finals team, just the vibe and the energy were totally different. So, you know, I don’t want to thrash the last couple of years, but they have been the hardest of my career, you know, being at that almost top and not getting there and then going to this,” he further added.
“Yeah, there was a disconnect. I don’t think there was any hatred in our last group amongst the guys. I think just when you’re all on a different plan and you don’t have the same common goal or same objective, then that’s what it turns into,” said Booker when asked about how such great chemistry off the court did not materialize on the court.
The interview hosts then compared his time in the superteam era to his initial years in the league. Booker still felt that, as a newcomer in the league, he had it easier than he did in the last two years.
“Way harder. That was, I mean, we had started a rebuild then you know, and this last couple of years it was a win a championship or bust, and you know we didn’t even make the play-in. So, definitely, the toughest two years of my career.”
It seems that Devin Booker was not taking a dig at Kevin Durant or Bradley Beal with his comments, despite what the fans believe. Booker was mainly introspecting about his own performance and how he dealt with the pressure of being on a superteam with such high expectations. Neither of which involves pointing a finger at Durant or Beal directly.
Later, in a press conference as well, Booker directly addressed playing with Durant and Beal and how he was sad that he could not achieve what he believed he could with them.
“It was tough. I think just not getting to where we wanted to with Kevin and Brad, two guys that I have a high respect for and always will. The opportunity to play alongside them was a lot in its own, but it will always be a disappointment to me to not do what we all sought out to do.”
In the last two seasons, Booker has seen his offensive production decline from when it peaked in 2022-23 (27.8 points per game) to the last season, when he averaged 25.6 points per game. Booker furthermore transitioned into the primary playmaker for the Suns and hence saw a career high while averaging 7.1 assists per game in 2024-25.
The Suns sacrificed the defense that Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton provided on their roster, which made it to the Finals in 2021, for Durant and Beal’s scoring ability. Chris Paul was the primary playmaker, and Booker was the key scorer. Those moves created the imbalance on the roster for the Suns, but that does not mean Booker, Durant, or Beal can be individually blamed for it.
If Booker goes back to his original role of the primary scorer, then maybe the Suns can create a balanced roster around him and contend for the championship in a few seasons.
