With a max deal, Devin Booker must be an All-Star

Devin Booker is officially a max player, which means he must give the Phoenix Suns max performance for the team to be successful.

Whether anyone thinks Devin Booker deserved a max contract is irrelevant. He got one. And that’s significant going forward. A simple look at the most luxurious contracts from 2018-19 shows the importance of getting quality play out of your most highly paid players.

The two highest paid players were Stephen Curry and LeBron James. Both produced at the highest level, and both made it to the championship. The third highest paid player was Paul Millsap, who was a major disappointment. As a result, the Nuggets missed the playoffs in a season where they hoped to take a big leap forward.

Boston was generally an exception to this rule, as they were deep enough to overcome major injuries. But it can still be argued that an injury to the NBA’s fourth highest paid player in Gordon Hayward is what kept them from reaching the finals.

And the list goes on. We can point to players throughout the top 20 in salary whose lack of production is a direct correlation to their teams struggles. Imagine if Blake Griffin produced like the fifth best player in the league to match his fifth wealthiest contract. The Pistons could’ve been the best team in the East instead of missing the playoffs.

Mike Conley is an absolute stud, but he’s never even been an All-Star. Memphis could never get over the hump with Conley on a top ten deal. Carmelo Anthony is a borderline starter who has a top 15 contract, and it clearly hindered Oklahoma City in their first round playoff loss. The guy behind him is Damian Lillard; the Thunder would be a serious threat in the West if Anthony gave them that type of production.

There is a very obvious correlation between success of a team and success of their highest paid players. Not every team needs a top five player to win, but they need players to play up to their contracts. Otherwise, it creates a giant hole in production that the team doesn’t have the cap space to fill.

All that means is the Phoenix Suns have officially pushed all their chips to the center of the table with hopes they’re holding an ace in Devin Booker. Of course other players matter too. For the Suns to compete, Deandre Ayton and at least one of Josh Jackson and Mikal Bridges must become All-Star caliber players. But pretty much nothing else matters if Booker doesn’t succeed.

With the contract Booker’s getting, it would be a disappointment if he’s not in the running for an All-Star selection next season. And the Suns would have made a mistake if he’s not a top ten player in the next three years. Because history shows that striking out on a big contract is a recipe for disaster; with a top ten contract, a team must get a top ten player.

Next: Now on a max, will Devin Booker be a G.O.A.T., or a goat

Only time will tell if Booker can be a perennial All-Star, but it’s clear the Suns think he will be.