30-plus points on four occasions<\/a>, with most of them happening in the past couple weeks.<\/p>\nBooker expressed just as much after the Suns suffered a 38-point loss to Golden State on Tuesday. When asked what exactly went awry for Phoenix this year, he didn\u2019t know where to begin.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a loaded question with a lot of answers,\u201d Booker said. \u201cThere\u2019s not one thing, one person, one player, or one coach that\u2019s the problem. When you have a season this bad, it\u2019s a bunch of things. The most frustrating part is being that close (to a title) a few years ago, and now \u2026 back to where we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similarly to last April, when Booker walked up to the podium after being swept in the first round, he echoed a sentence that directly relates to establishing a winning culture, something Phoenix has failed to reclaim since 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust no winning habits,” he said.<\/p>\n
It raises the question of whether these next few days should be the final time Booker and Durant wear Suns uniforms. For Durant, every indication is that he\u2019ll be shopped this summer \u2013 for various reasons. Quite honestly, it could be the scenario that works out the best for him, considering he\u2019ll be 37 years old at the beginning of next season with only a finite amount of time before his title chances are gone.<\/p>\n
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 28: (L-R) Devin Booker #1, Bradley Beal #3 and Kevin Durant #35 of the … More Phoenix Suns walk on the court during the first half of the NBA game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Footprint Center on October 28, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Lakers 109-105. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and\/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
Regarding Booker, it\u2019s a much more difficult call. One that I wouldn\u2019t envy leadership for having to make.<\/p>\n
In 95% of these cases around the NBA, the logical approach would be to sell high on Booker, who is still squarely in his prime and has a pretty good track record of health. No matter the trading partner, it would allow Phoenix to recoup some draft capital, bring in one or two established (but young) pieces, and start from the ground up.<\/p>\n
Personally, I would be too nervous to go down that route.<\/p>\n
At least right now.<\/p>\n
Suns owner Mat Ishbia is firmly against putting Booker on the trade market, and it makes sense why. There is still something to be said about loyalty in professional sports, and showing players the same level of respect they give to your organization.<\/p>\n
Blindsiding a player by trading them away can have negative ramifications on the perception of your organization and leadership. Plus, this isn\u2019t similar to the James Harden situation with the Houston Rockets in 2020, where a disgruntled star wanted a fresh start elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Booker loves being in Phoenix. Point blank, simple.<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s a scenario in which Booker does want to leave and pursue championship opportunities elsewhere \u2026 we haven\u2019t reached it.<\/p>\n
That reality might exist one day. But it\u2019s not one that he believes in right now.<\/p>\n
The more pressing matter in Phoenix is obvious, but not exactly the easiest solution. For the Suns to move forward and start fixing the mess, finding a trade partner attractive enough for Bradley Beal to waive his no-trade clause becomes the first priority. Beal is owed two more years and $110.7 million until he hits free agency in July 2027.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a reason Beal wasn\u2019t moved before this year\u2019s trade deadline, however. It\u2019s a near-impossible task to find a team willing to take on such a salary that Beal also wouldn\u2019t mind going to. Those two things don\u2019t necessarily align, and that isn\u2019t changing.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the future of head coach Mike Budenholzer needs to be resolved. Ishbia can either go ten toes down for Budenholzer and refusing to be known as the franchise that changes identities every season, or they can search the market for a long-term option after both Michael Malone and Taylor Jenkins became available this month.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not going to be a simple decision, especially since Budenholzer still has four years left on his contract.<\/p>\n
Were there any bright spots during this regular season? Sure.<\/p>\n
It begins with the discovery of rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, who I\u2019ll break down more in detail after the season has concluded. Both deserve credit for staying positive and impactful in the pockets of minutes they\u2019ve received despite the team falling off a cliff.<\/p>\n
For all of the mistakes Phoenix has made over the last couple of years, they struck gold by drafting Dunn and Ighodaro, who each possess strong basketball IQs and will be able to fit around any version of the roster in the future.<\/p>\n
Right now, it\u2019s hard to even focus on the positives. At some point this offseason, the team will turn the page and redirect the energy. But this is the nature of the beast, and the reality of a team who just experienced the most disappointing year in franchise history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX, ARIZONA – MARCH 30: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns looks on during the second half…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107586,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3791],"tags":[7,2292,938,3358,6,2065,472,4045,604],"class_list":{"0":"post-107585","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix-suns","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-devin-booker","10":"tag-kevin-durant","11":"tag-mike-budenholzer","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-phoenix","14":"tag-phoenix-suns","15":"tag-phoenixsuns","16":"tag-suns"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114705283875399808","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Houston](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1750263613_922_960x0.jpg\")
<\/p>\n