Phoenix Suns: Should the Suns trade Devin Booker sooner rather than later?
After what transpired this offseason, we explore whether it could be worth it for the Phoenix Suns to trade Devin Booker
It is currently a seller’s market in the NBA. Especially, if you have a promising player you are not sure you can win with. The Oklahoma City Thunder basically became the NBA’s version of the 1 percent. If you replace billions of dollars with 1st round draft picks.
The Thunder received five first-round picks and a promising 21-year-old guard for Paul George, a player who had surgery on both shoulders this offseason.
The New Orleans Pelicans got three first-round picks and three young, promising players (Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and Lonzo Ball) in exchange for Anthony Davis, a player who, depending on how you look at it, gave up on his team halfway through last season.
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Considering how hot the trade market has been over the past few months for blue-chip stars, you can’t help but wonder if this is the perfect time to sell.
The Phoenix Suns are historically bad. They have not made in the playoffs since the 2009-10 season. Last year, the Suns were so bad, at 19-63, that they were 14 games away from being the second-worst team in the Western Conference. They missed the playoffs by 29 games this year and 26 the previous year.
The Suns are going nowhere fast but they have a small glimmer of hope in Devin Booker, who will turn 23 this year and is a future all-star.
The question is: would it be worth it to trade Booker if you got a haul as large as the one the Thunder received for Paul or the Pelicans received for AD?
Devin Booker averaged 26.6 points per game which was the sixth most in the NBA last season. Although, many would say those numbers are inflated because he is the best player on a terrible team. A classic good stats-bad team guy, which was reflected in him not being named an All-Star or All-NBA player.
Devin Booker has the third-highest usage rate in the NBA at 32.9 percent. His value over a replacement player is only 1.6. D’Angelo Russell, also 22, had a VORP of 3.3 with a USG% 31.9.
Devin Booker is the 32nd highest paid player in the NBA. He is the 76th best in terms of VORP. He is 131st in Win Shares with 3.5.
Now, Devin Booker does have some strengths. He has improved as a passer and averaged 6.8 assists per game this past season while shooting 47 percent from the field, 87 percent from the free-throw line but just 33 percent from 3-point range.
Devin Booker has the potential to be an elite player in the NBA. He is a very poor defender with a Defensive rating of 118 and averaging only 0.9 steals a game.
A trade still might be the best option for the Suns. Booker is under contract for five more years, but in the current NBA, where the players have all the power, that doesn’t mean much.
Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul, and Paul George, all under contract, were moved this offseason.
If the Suns want to sell high on Booker, they need to find a team that has a cache picks stored away. Teams can’t trade consecutive first-round picks and can only trade picks seven years into the future.
Booker is, by far, the Suns’ best asset on the roster. An asset with extreme flaws. Flaws that could eventually disappear or be hidden on another team. It is highly unlikely that the Suns will become a contender in the next five years, which is when Booker’s contract expires.
The Pelicans could have been doomed when Anthony Davis demanded a trade. Davis is a borderline MVP, it would be hard to find a return as high as that. The Pelicans got lucky as they won the lottery and got Zion Williamson, along with obtaining three picks, including the fourth overall, from the Lakers.
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Devin Booker might be great, but he also might not ever take the Phoenix Suns to the promised land. If the Suns can’t vastly improve the team in the near future, perhaps it might be time to see what they could get for Booker. And, right now, after what transpired this summer, perhaps now is the right time to make a move.