Phoenix Suns: 3 reasons Devin Booker’s extension was a no-brainer
2. Suns had no other option anyway
The Phoenix Suns haven’t made the playoffs since 2010. They’ve never won a championship in 50 years, their last big free agency acquisition was Steve Nash in 2004, and since general manager Ryan McDonough took over, the list of disgruntled players the franchise drove away includes Goran Dragic, Isaiah Thomas, Eric Bledsoe, Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris.
Not all of those ugly situations were their fault, but the point still stands: The Suns are currently viewed around the league as not only a losing team, but a dysfunctional organization with a poor culture.
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That shouldn’t be the case for a Suns team that, not too long ago, was the NBA’s fourth-winningest franchise of all time, but McDonough wasn’t exactly negotiating from a position of power this summer. After Bledsoe’s uncomfortable and drawn out contract negotiations, faces of the franchise leaving left and right and so many botched draft picks, McDonough had no leverage whatsoever to sell Devin Booker on taking a discounted extension — even if he had wanted to.
The Suns have been desperate for the next franchise superstar since Steve Nash was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, and the only player who’s even come remotely close in that time — Goran Dragic — was traded away half a season after his breakout year.
Devin Booker was not just signed to this massive extension because he’s a great young player with superstar upside; he was extended because failing to pony up the dough risked upsetting a player the Suns absolutely need to rebuild, whether he winds up being the best player on a championship squad or the third-best player on a frequent playoff team.
Paying an average salary over $30 million would be a lot for the third-best player on a regular playoff team, but that’s not Booker’s fate. Even if it were, with young pieces like Josh Jackson, Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges all on their rookie contracts, the Suns couldn’t afford to mess around in these negotiations to erect the first franchise pillar.
As a team desperate to return to relevance by contending for titles, they weren’t going to risk upsetting the best youngster to walk through the door in decades with anything less than a max offer. They weren’t going to let an uncomfortable relationship simmer until restricted free agency next summer, nor were they suddenly going to change their minds about Devin Booker being their franchise cornerstone.
In that sense, the Phoenix Suns had no better option. Even if he’s not ultimately worth a max deal in a vacuum, that’s not where this front office is operating from. Context matters, and in this case, being able to build around a 21-year-old scoring phenom makes perfect sense for this team.