The Phoenix Suns are guaranteed to finish .500 or worse this season after falling to their 41st loss of the year to the Milwaukee Bucks. It is one of the final nails in the coffin for the Suns, who are 1.5 games behind the No. 10 seed and are inching closer to not even qualifying for the Play-In Tournament, let alone the Playoffs.
Devin Booker has been a decade-long veteran on the Suns who’s back to the dark days when the team was not even making the Playoffs. However, this temporary hiccup won’t stop Booker from spending the rest of his career trying to bring Phoenix its first NBA title, as he told The Ringer.
“It’s not always greener on the other side. People always want to leave their situation and end up in a worse situation and then they go missing. You’ll never have the love like you have by the team that drafted you… It’s great people and there’s an untapped fan base that it’s never been done here before, and that’s what everybody’s been waiting on.”
“I’ll never be in a rebuild again. We’re always going to be competing and trying to get to a championship.”
Booker was drafted by the Suns in the 2015 Draft with the 13th overall pick. After being a bench player for Kentucky in college, many questioned why the Suns spent a premium draft pick on a player like Booker.
Their faith in the guard paid off instantly as he scored 70 points in a game as a rookie before eventually leading them to the 2021 NBA Finals.
Outside the 2020-21 season, Booker’s Suns tenure has had ample disappointment. From the perennial tanking seasons in his first five years with the team to the disastrous 2022 Playoff loss to the Dallas Mavericks. It’s gotten more unstable over the last two years, but Booker is still Phoenix’s hero.
He’s averaged 24.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists over his career with the Suns. He’s averaging 25.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 7.1 assists this season and is considered the only safe player on the Suns ahead of a presumed summer rebuild.
Devin Booker Reflects Honestly On Partnership With Kevin Durant
The Suns were supposed to be top-line contenders over the last two seasons but have struggled mightily despite having Booker paired up with Kevin Durant. After the Suns tried trading Durant over the winter, it’s widely expected the team and player will part ways this summer.
Booker reflected honestly on his time alongside Durant, acknowledging that external factors have played a major role in limiting their success.
“It’s upsetting. Ultimately, when you’re playing with this type of talent, you expect a championship. And our first year linking up together was our best run at it, winning two games [against] Denver. And ever since then, it’s kind of been downhill.”
“Hell yeah, I want to play alongside him. The team’s been in a tough situation. So, that’s the NBA today. I think K understands the business too, that when things aren’t going the right way, people are going to explore options. I don’t know how serious it actually was, but we moved past it. You see his morale, you see how he feels about the city.”
The Booker-Durant pairing had potential but was left grossly misused after the Suns spent all their remaining assets on a Bradley Beal acquisition instead of targeting someone like Jrue Holiday, who was traded to the Boston Celtics that summer.
The trio has not worked on the court at all, and Beal’s no-trade clause means Booker’s time with Durant is likely ending this summer.
