Key Takeaways
- The Phoenix Suns gave Devin Booker a two-year $145 million extension on Wednesday, the richest annual contract in NBA history.
- This is the same franchise that just missed the playoffs with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal also on their roster.
- Read below to understand why the Suns could regret overpaying Booker ahead of an uncertain future.
Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns tried to build a dynasty. They pulled off a blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant two years ago and also acquired Bradley Beal just a few months later. Fast forward to now, and Durant was just sent to the Houston Rockets, while a buyout is expected for Beal, who is drawing interest from the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers.
This Big Three, anchored by Devin Booker and Durant, didn’t live up to expectations. Sure, the Suns struggled immensely to play defense and had a subpar supporting cast, but the reality is this franchise shouldn’t be missing the playoffs with three elite players leading the roster.
With Durant gone and Beal seemingly on his way out, Phoenix decided to lock up its cornerstone on Wednesday, signing Booker to a two-year, $145 million contract extension that will see him earn more than $70 million per season. While Booker has been through all the ups and downs with the Suns, he isn’t worth this much money.
Booker has made four All-Star teams in his 10-year career. Don’t get me wrong—the Kentucky product is a cold-blooded scorer—but if we’re being realistic, he’s not even a top-five player in the NBA and has never been a legitimate MVP candidate. $72.5 million per year is MVP money. Booker isn’t exactly an elite defensive player, either. One could argue he’s not even top 10 among the league’s best players.
Booker is now 28 years old, and this new deal runs through his age-32 and -33 seasons. He’s in his prime right now, and although Booker is showing no signs of slowing down offensively, he’s in the midst of his best years. They aren’t ahead of him.
In fact, Booker’s new contract makes him the highest-paid player in NBA history. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took that record only earlier this week with a four-year, $285 million supermax deal that is set to pay him $71.25 million annually. Booker just surpassed that.
I get it. Booker was drafted by the Suns, has stuck through thick and thin, took the franchise to the doorstep of the promised land in 2021 against the Milwaukee Bucks, and has never once expressed a desire to leave. He has stayed loyal to a franchise that has, frankly, looked hopeless at times. But where are they heading now? Durant left. The Beal experiment was a disaster. Although the Suns insist they’re trying to be competitive, it’s hard to imagine this squad building a better roster than they had.
So what if Phoenix decides to blow it up and trade Booker? Considering his hefty contract, it will be next to impossible for any franchise to take on his deal. Realistically, any organization that wants to make a move for a player like Booker would already be a contender and probably has a max player on its roster already—if not two. Due to the new collective bargaining agreement, it’s even more difficult for any team to trade for Booker in the future. The likelihood of Phoenix getting anything substantial in return for him becomes lower after he put pen to paper on this lucrative deal.
Obviously, Mat Ishbia and the Suns aren’t looking at this contract with the intention of trading the guard in the future. But even though Booker is a very solid player who is a career 24.4 PPG scorer, he shouldn’t be the highest-paid star in the history of the sport. This contract simply doesn’t make sense when viewed through a more critical lens.
If Phoenix does become a playoff team again in the next year or two, then perhaps this won’t be a terrible contract. But it has the potential to be a big mistake for a franchise with no clear direction at the moment.
