D’Angelo Russell has been at the top of many Phoenix Suns fans free agency wish-lists for a few weeks now and all indications show he is a favorite of Devin Booker’s as well. The front office should keep this in mind as they operate over the next week.
On Tuesday of this week an article from Zach Lowe of ESPN mentions that Devin Booker wants the Phoenix Suns to add his best friend D’Angelo Russell in free agency, however according to Zach, that does not appear to be a unanimous choice among franchise decision makers.
This is not meant to be an argument for why Russell is a perfect fit for the Suns or why he should get a max contract in free agency, because potentially overpaying for a player just because he’s friends with his star player is not a good reason.
What is true is that the Phoenix Suns won 19 games last season and a 23-year-old All-Star at the biggest position of need might be available and he happens to be best friends with Devin Booker.
Basically, the Phoenix Suns are not in the position to be saying thanks but no thanks to 23-year-old All-Stars who might be interested in joining their roster regardless of position and relationship.
If Devin Booker is as talented as many believe him to be, then to start his career winning less than 25 games each of the first four years is nearly unprecedented.
Even at such a young age Booker has been at the heart of a relatively low amount of drama considering the disparity between his talent and the winning.
Even if D’Angelo Russell is not a perfect fit for the roster as it stands, he still needs to be perused just so the team can take a step in the right direction.
If the Suns have the chance to get Russell but balk at the price their next moves better be great ones in Booker’s eyes – which probably means signing only Cory Joseph or someone of that caliber is not the way to go.
Booker should not be slandered at all for wanting Russell on the team. He would instantly become the best player Booker has ever played with and would take a load off of him. It is not as if Booker is demanding that Tyler Ulis has a spot on the roster because of their friendship.
This is why it is great when a teams star makes connections and friendships with other players in the league, to bring in other star players! This could be the Phoenix Suns’ chance to listen to the input of their star player and bring in another up-and-coming talent. The Suns need to put themselves in a position where the only one who can let down Booker is D’Angelo Russell.