Phoenix Suns made a big mistake with Devin Booker
On paper, you look at the Phoenix Suns roster and it’s easy to see why many are excited about their prospects as a young team. Led by Devin Booker, this is an extremely talented team that is yearning for a breakout season.
Many thought that would come this season, but short of putting together a string of victories in the eight seeding games in the NBA’s restart, the Suns are set to miss the playoffs for the 10th straight season. The good news is that the team will earn another lottery pick, but at this point in the team’s development that’s not exactly the goal for a team led by Booker.
Interestingly enough, during the 2019 NBA offseason, the Suns have an opportunity to pursue a free agent that would help the team make the jump into playoff contenders. However, in the end, the Suns weren’t overly excited about the idea of signing D’Angelo Russell and adding him to this current roster.
Did the Phoenix Suns make a big mistake?
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Considering that he’s good friends with Booker, the move at the time seemed confusing. Not surprisingly, that decision did – or will – have its consequences.
Booker was not happy with the Suns when they came to the conclusion that Russell would not be a good addition to the team because of potential off-the-court issues that could arise.
"[via SNY TV]Something else that’s worth noting about Booker and the Suns: last summer, the Arizona Republic reported that the Suns chose not to pursue D’Angelo Russell, Booker’s close friend, in free agency because the club “apparently felt Russell wouldn’t have been a good influence on Booker off the court.”Booker, per league sources, wasn’t happy with the organization at the time of the report."
In today’s NBA, this entire back and worth will lay the groundwork for Booker potentially demanding a trade away from the Suns. Perhaps it won’t happen over the next year or so, mostly due to his current contract situation, but if you don’t think that this is something that will remain in the back of Booker’s mind you haven’t been paying attention to the player-empowerment movement in the NBA over the last few years.
Hopefully, for Phoenix’s sake, Devin Booker doesn’t demand a trade anytime soon. And hopefully, the Suns can continue to build around this team’s young core. However, if Booker does demand a trade over the course of the next two seasons, you can’t help but look back at what happened at the 2019 NBA offseason as potentially birthing that idea.