Devin Booker’s time with Phoenix Suns is up, according to this NBA insider

The Phoenix Suns are stuck between a rock and a hard place, and may have to trade Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.

Devin Booker’s time with Phoenix Suns is up, according to this NBA insider

Devin Booker

There are no two ways about this – the Phoenix Suns’ championship window has been slammed shut in 2024-25. The 2021 NBA Finals appearance they made during their first season with Chris Paul will be their best recent playoff sojourn. The team led by Devin Booker losing to Luka Doncic and co in seven games the following year was a telltale sign. Their second-round exit with Kevin Durant was also another sign.

But the way the team has disintegrated over the course of 2023-24 and 2024-25 has been surreal to see. This is a roster that has three dynamic scorers capable of hanging 30 nights on any given NBA night. Bradley Beal’s flop status notwithstanding, the Suns losing their defensive identity was fatal to their playoff chances. Deandre Ayton was maligned for his temperament, but Phoenix is still looking for their first playoff win since trading him.

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Having gotten to a paltry 36-45 record following an 11-3 start, there remains no place for this roster to go. ESPN expert and former Memphis Grizzlies executive John Hollinger believes that the road for the franchise to build around Devin Booker is now closed. According to him, Mat Ishbia and the Suns have to bite the bullet, trade Kevin Durant and Booker and get their picks till 2031 back from the Houston Rockets.

In all likelihood, there is only one truly viable exit point: The Suns have to trade Booker and Durant to the Rockets to get their picks back. Houston controls the Suns’ pick this year, as well as those in 2027 and 2029.
Phoenix can’t do anything about the 2026 pick, but in a hypothetical deal with the Rockets, the Suns would get their lottery pick this June back from the Rockets, get Jalen Green back as a salary match and entertain the fans with some empty calories en route to a couple of 23-win seasons.

John Hollinger wrote in his column on The Athletic

Trading his prime players away while considering them a top core in the league (as Ishbia stated in a recent press conference) is tantamount to franchise suicide, at least for a billionaire looking to win an NBA championship in the short run. However, it is clear that with Beal carrying a no-trade clause, the roster has to be improved from elsewhere. Beal still has two years on his deal, while Durant turns a free agent after 2026.

Where would Devin Booker and Kevin Durant be headed?

While Durant and Booker have made it clear that they like being in Phoenix and playing for the Suns, one or both of them will likely have to be traded in the summer to clear space and sign players to build a viable defensive roster. The lack of a true point guard, a viable defensive center and size on the perimeter have been the Suns’ Achilles heels this year.

While still 28, Booker has had a down year. With three years remaining on his supermax contract, there are few teams that could return something of value in exchange for his contract. The likes of OKC Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies have been mentioned in talks, as have the Houston Rockets. But while Booker would be a great fit on any of those teams, the asking price for him will likely make these GMs baulk.

Durant’s contract is a lot more viable given that he gave the most productive season by a 36-year-old in league history this year. Given his age, the only teams that could add him to their rosters will have their championship window clock ticking. Durant has been linked to teams like the OKC Thunder and even the Washington Wizards.