The Phoenix Suns recently extended Dillon Brooks' contract for another three years. It follows last summer's two-year extension of Devin Booker. These are moves designed to maintain a status quo that isn't working instead of making the hard choice to engage the full roster rebuild they need.
It's been a rough few seasons for Phoenix basketball fans. After Mat Ishiba took over as the majority owner of the franchise, the team went all in on a big three consisting of Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal. Saying that was an absolute train wreck is an insult to train wrecks.
Durant was gone after less than two seasons. Beal lasted about as long, left for the Clippers, spent most of 2025-2026 injured, and is now an unrestricted free agent with no prospects. The only guy left standing on the Suns from that brief era is Booker, who has been with the team since the 2015 draft.
The fallout of the Durant era has been a half-hearted rebuild centered around Booker. 2025 saw the additions of Brooks and Jalen Green. In the 2026 offseason, they traded for Miles Bridges, signed free agent Luke Kennard, and drafted Koa Peat. That's on top of more than a few departures.
Phoenix will eventually have to make the obvious move away from Booker
While Booker has consistently displayed individual brilliance on the court, team success has largely eluded the franchise. With Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton, Booker led the Suns to the NBA Finals in 2021. He followed that up in the next season with the best win record in the history of the team.
Beyond that, success has been limited. The Suns have only made the playoffs in five out of Booker's 11 seasons in Phoenix. In those five playoff appearances, the team made it past the second round once. That's a total of one Western Conference Championship in 11 seasons.
At some point, the front office has to start asking itself if Booker is the right foundational cornerstone for the Suns. To be fair, they have rarely done a good job building a winner around him. They were close in 2021, but getting past prime Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks was improbable.
Booker's extended contract runs through the 2029-2030 season, with a player option in the final year. If Phoenix has not seen real competitive improvement by then, it has to be time to cut ties with their franchise player. Until then, everything is a holding action to see if he can get the job done.
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