Suns’ Devin Booker has every reason to request a trade with franchise looking directionless after KD deal

The Phoenix Suns finally traded Kevin Durant on Sunday, ending an era that amounted to two playoff appearances in three years, and just one playoff series win. That’s not a diss to Durant, the Suns constructed a roster that was incredibly top-heavy around its three stars of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, leaving very little left over to fill out the rest of the roster with quality role players. There was also the issue of injuries, as all three of those guys struggled at one time or another with various ailments, keeping them sidelined for large chunks of time and stifling any ability to build the type of chemistry needed for a championship-contending team.

So after two-and-a-half years of having Durant on the team, the Suns sent him to one of his preferred destinations in the Houston Rockets, in which Phoenix got a return package of Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in this week’s draft and five second-round picks. It’s certainly not the haul the Suns initially gave up to add Durant in 2023, but getting even half of what Phoenix paid was never a realistic possibility given his age, contract status and injury history. 

At best, the return is average, which is what my colleague Brad Botkin graded the deal. But if you’re Booker, the guy who has been the face of this Phoenix franchise since being drafted 13th overall in 2015, it’s just another reason why he would be well within his rights to request a trade away from the Suns.

Let’s consider all the variables of just the trade itself. Phoenix didn’t add a point guard to pair with Booker, someone who can set the table for the Suns and get the ball to him in the right spots. They got Green, who plays the same position as Booker, is a high-usage, low-efficiency scorer who needs the ball in his hands to be effective. Oh, and then there’s Beal, who also slots best as a shooting guard along with Booker and Green, giving the Suns no depth elsewhere on the roster. They didn’t address the need of a starting center through this trade, though they can still accomplish that this summer. Adding Brooks will raise Phoenix’s defense, but he’s not the type of player who is going to drastically alter Phoenix’s outlook next season.

There’s no way to look at this trade other than it being a step down for the Suns. It doesn’t get them any closer to contending for a championship, it actually just makes them a worse team with the same problems they had even with Durant. The Suns didn’t get any of their own future draft capital back from the Rockets aside from this year’s lottery pick, and they’re still a team that is well over the second tax apron. So unless the Suns shed more salary, this is still a team beholden to all the restrictions that comes with being over the second apron, like not being able to use the taxpayer mid-level exception, aggregating two or more player salaries in a trade or sending out cash in trades.

Kevin Durant trade shows just how far Rockets have risen, Suns have fallen

James Herbert

Green is a good player who is still just 23 years old and has lots of room to improve, but if you’re Booker, who will be 29 shortly after the season starts, is in the midst of his prime, a four-time All-Star and someone who any championship-contending team would be lucky to have, why would you want to stick around hoping that Green can turn into the kind of running mate that can make you a title contender. 

Playing your whole career for one team is an endearing concept, and there are very few players who have as strong a bond with the city they play in than Booker and Phoenix. But if the goal is to win a championship, which Booker has gone on record to say that is important to him, at some point you have to look around and see if the team is making the right decisions to put you in the best position to do that. The Suns haven’t been.

It’s not just the Durant trade. It’s the fact that the Suns will enter next season on their fourth coach in as many seasons. They fired Monty Williams after he led the team to the Finals, and fired both Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer after just one year. Jordan Ott, who served as an assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers, will take on the role next, but there’s no guarantee he will work either in his first experience as a head coach.

There’s the fact that most of the roster construction decisions since the Suns made it to the Finals in 2021 have been executed with the kind of chaotic desperation that was probably unnecessary in the first place. Phoenix didn’t need to surrender all of its young depth to add Durant, but they did so anyway trying to chase short-term success that never came. They certainly shouldn’t have traded for Beal, whose no-trade clause has made it impossible for the Suns to move off his albatross contract.

Booker’s been with the Suns through some truly low points, as well as the highest points. But with this latest trade, it feels like the pendulum is swinging back in the other direction for Phoenix, one that Booker has outgrown. He likely won’t request a trade, but at this point, no one would blame him if he did.