Phoenix Suns: 5 takeaways from 2017-18 exit interviews

2. Devin Booker wants to be in Phoenix

This summer, Devin Booker will be eligible for a five-year, $156 million extension.

After he stated the obvious in an interview with The Undefeated‘s Marc J. Spears about how this is a big summer for the Suns with all the draft assets, young players and cap space at their disposal, his words were twisted into talking heads wondering if he was disenfranchised or whether he might request a trade.

Booker was quick to put those fan concerns to bed during his exit interviews, explicitly stating that Phoenix is where he wants to be.

"“Don’t believe the nonsense,” he said. “That’s what people want to happen. With TV, they just need something to talk about. I’ve always mentioned, since my first day here, I fell in love with the city, I fell in love with the fanbase and the dedication they’ve showed to the team.”"

If anything, the team’s struggles serve as personal motivation. The “good numbers on a bad team” talk is hard to ignore, but even when tuning out all the outside noise, Booker is driven by the idea of restoring this franchise to prominence, saying it would mean more to win here than anywhere else.

"“I always think, turn around the franchise, get it back how it used to be,” he said. “You watch the highlights of [Charles] Barkley, [Steve] Nash and them, and how alive the arena was. One of my goals is to get it back that way.”"

McDonough is acutely aware of the pressure and accelerated timeline he has to work under now that Booker has proven himself as a franchise star and is stating his desire to start competing in the NBA.

"“Our message to him will be, ‘Let us help you,'” McDonough said. “I think and hope it’ll be easier for him next year. As we bring in more talent, there’s less attention on him. What he’s been able to do through his first three years with some very young, inexperienced teams and teammates, that’s exciting for us as we put more talent around him.”"

Neither side would commit to saying an extension is guaranteed, which is standard procedure in these situations. However, McDonough noted there’s a mutual interest, that both parties would be in constant communication over the summer and that in late June, the two sides would come together and start talking about an extension.

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If the Suns offer a five-year deal with life-changing money (as they should), Booker would almost certainly take it (as he should). After all, $156 million is hard to turn down, no matter where you live.

Phoenix has been irrelevant for his first three years in the league, but the new face of the Suns said he’d be willing to make free agency pitches and do whatever it takes to help them attract more talent.

"“I think right now, I see the beauty in a struggle and once that success starts happening, it’ll make it feel even better knowing what we went through as a team and as young players,” Booker said."