What the Phoenix Suns should do with Devin Booker: Play him

PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 2: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns handles the ball against Josh Huestis #34 of the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 2, 2018 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 2: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns handles the ball against Josh Huestis #34 of the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 2, 2018 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)

As of Sunday September 9, Devin Booker is out indefinitely following surgery on a broken hand. The Phoenix Suns need to get him back and playing as soon as possible.

The Phoenix Suns are finally at the end of their rebuilding period (or so we hope). So if they are going to do any growing whatsoever in 2018-19, they need to get Devin Booker back on the court as quickly as possible and start winning as many games as they can.

While injuries to Devin Booker certainly need to be cared for as intently as possible, this is the modern age: minor surgery like the one that Booker has been reported to have had, isn’t career-threatening, and thus, as soon as he is safely able to hold, bounce, and shoot a basketball, he needs to be on the court playing with his teammates, so many of whom are either new to the franchise and in need of practice with their star teammate.

Some teams, like the Philadelphia 76ers, have babied their star players over the years in the hopes of both keeping them as healthy as they can for years later, while also adding as many lottery picks as possible.

Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns

However, the Phoenix Suns have been doing that for three years now; they have three star picks in Booker Josh Jackson and Deandre Ayton, and working to add another  young player will only continue to delay the core’s group development pushing playoff and championship runs ever-further into the future.

Yes, Booker’s injury is to his shooting hand, and for a star player who is a shooter, lingering injuries to that hand can ruin not only his season (and career), but the playoff chances of his team.

That said, Booker is young.  I am not advocating for the franchise to rush him back to the court potentially damaging his hand for the rest of his career, but they shouldn’t wait too long for him to return. As soon as his hand is ready to go, and he feels comfortable with the daily activities of a professional athlete, he needs to be at practice, in the preseason, and on the court as much as possible not only developing his game, but also the game’s of his teammates.

Of course if Booker misses a significant amount of time throughout the year the team will lose, pushing their lottery odds higher and higher.

But that does not mean that the Suns will get a top-ten or even top-three pick in 2019, nor does it guarantee that the player that they draft will be a star player (take Alex Len, Marquese Chriss, and Dragan Bender, for instance).

It also doesn’t guarantee that Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough will be able to move a top pick for a player that he wants. Obviously a top-five pick can be used for a trade, but there is no way to know that the star player he wants, or that a viable package in general, can be pieced together that doesn’t otherwise destroy the team’s core.

Not only that, but if they are going to try and tank this season on any level and then not trade the pick for a veteran, then McDonough has to realize that getting to his playoffs must his top priority in 2019, so adding a young player who might not be ready to perform at his peak potential for a few years, might totally kill the franchise’s chance at competing for a playoff spot for several years to come.

Professional athletes play with lagging injuries all the time. No one plays a full season and playoffs totally healthy and Devin Booker will be no exception. So long as he can play, he has a professional obligation to play whenever possible.

Taking a day off here and there, especially on back-to-back nights, will be okay. Obviously the team needs him healthy to try and make a playoff run, but they are also banking on Booker being able to guide them for the next several years, if not the better part of a decade or more into the future.

Winning is contagious and teams need to learn how to win. Playing Devin Booker now as much as possible will help to teach young players how to win and getting him on the court as soon and as much as possible will be advantageous to the entire franchise’s growth.