Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker was given a late position in the All-Star Game when Damian Lillard went down. Could the switch have been part of a conspiracy?
The Phoenix Suns have not have an All-Star representative since Steve Nash in 2012, and Devin Booker has not only been the franchise’s best possibility for the past few years, but the only potential selection since his entrance into the league.
Unfortunately, this year the team hasn’t been good enough to warrant national attention (thanks, Robert Sarver), so Book stood absolutely zero chance at being voted on by the fans.
Then (for some unknown reason) he was also not selected as a reserve, which appeared to not only continue the franchise’s streak of non-All-Star representation beyond eight calendar years, but he (and Bradley Beal) were set to become the first players to average over 27 points per game at the All-Star break to not make an All-Star team since Ronald Reagan was President of the United States (Purvis Short in 1984-85 – who you ask? Click on his name and find out – then come back here for the rest of the conspiracy).
Also, Booker’s scoring average dropped to below 27, so then there’s that.
Until, Damian Lillard‘s groin injury happened.
On a seemingly innocuous play at the end of the Portland Trailblazers loss at the Memphis Grizzlies (here is the link to the NBA.com recap of the game; I can’t help but marvel at the original Vancouver uniforms that Memphis is wearing and how much I love them), Lillard pulled up lame, and instantly held his right groin in discomfrot.
Now, I do believe that he was hurt on that play – at least I believe that that play hurt.
However, there were less than four minutes remaining in the final game before the All-Star break, and the Blazers were all but completely out of it (Carmelo Anthony shot a crazy 1-15 from the field and the team finished shooting a lame 37-1% on the night).
Is it possible, that Lillard may have simply re-agitated an older injury, or hurt himself to the point that he knew he wouldn’t want to play the final few minutes of a game in which absolutely nothing was going Portland’s way?
Could the injury have been nothing more than beautifully public timing, giving him the opportunity to miss a couple of events he really didn’t want to even participate in in the first place?
So, it is True?
Damian Lillard is 29-years-old, and with his selection to the 2020 All-Star game, he is also now a five-time All-Star representative of the Portland Trail Blazers.
For lack of a better phrase: he has been there, and done that.
With his age too (and lack off missed games in his eight-year career: 25 total), he may have an eye towards both the long-term struggle, with the desire to rest as much as possible over the next week, rather than participate in both the All-Star Game and the 3-point shooting contest which would require him to stay “on” over a period of time he might very much just wish to sleep through.
While an All-Star appearance is certainly probably never old hat to a player, with the fact that he had already been named to the team, whether or not he actually played in the game, he will forever be recognized as an All-Star this season.
He too has been carrying the franchise (although, much like Booker, not very far as Portland has fallen four games behind Memphis for the eight-seed in the playoffs), averaging career-highs in scoring, field goals both made and attempted per game, as well as assists, while averaging career-highs in both 3-pointers both made and attempted, falling just .001 his career-high beyond the arc (.394 in 2013-14).
It is very possible that Lillard is exhausted and did not want to fully participate in the All-Star festivities (maybe he is like me, and doesn’t care for the manner in which the teams are selected), and used the injury (or at least the appearance of a severe-enough injury) to back out of the entire weekend all together.
But if any of that is true, why did he single out Devin Booker?
So then, why Devin Booker?
The injury being what it is (or as serious as he wanted to make it), why then would Damian Lillard not only take himself out of the All-Star festivities immediately following a game without any “official” word from the team, but then specifically mention Devin Booker’s name as a potential replacement?
Well, what if they know each other really well – much better than the general public could every know?
Devin Booker, D’Angelo Russell, and Karl-Anthony Towns might be pubic besties, but what if Book and Lillard are still the kind of friends who play NBA2K every night but just don’t share any public photos of their show downs?
For all we know, not only could the two be very good friends (to the point that Lillard might respect Booker more than others in the Western Conference), but Damian in particular could feel a particular kinship with Book and respect his game to a similar level that, at least on a national-level, only Phoenix Suns fans feel or could possibly understand.
Then again, Lillard knows a lot of really good players around the league. But what if he wanted Devin Booker in the game?
Phoenix Suns
While so many players were close with and knew Kobe Bryant, Book may have been the most prominent young player in the league to have had a relationship with the superstar (and was also anywhere close Kobe’s level of talent) who also grew up with Bryant being a specific idol.
For any human being, when your idol passes away, a part of you dies with him/her. But then imagine that you knew, and at least in the case of a professional athlete, worked with your idol, how painful that loss could be.
Devin Booker visibly cried on the basketball court following Kobe’s passing, evidence enough that the connection between the two was truly close.
For this, Lillard may believe that Booker absolutely deserved to wear Kobe’s number 24 to represent the now lost star.
Extendedly, for as fantastic as his season is this thus far has been for Book (26.4 points per game, 4.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 49.6% from the field, and 35.8% from beyond the arc), it is very likely that if he put those very same numbers up next season when Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson return, the Suns star would need to have a much better team around him in order to be seriously considered for an All-Star position – something that is absolutely no guarantee, and something that Lillard has been dealing with himself in Portland for ‘lo these many years.
Lest we forget: Lillard also specifically mentioned Booker’s name in his post game press conference, which he may have known would have basically forced the league’s hand.
The decision of a replacement came down to Adam Silver and Kiki Vandeweghe, and there is no doubt that they (as well as the league office in general) are well aware of the season that Devin Booker is having statistically, as well as the dreadful plight of the Phoenix Suns franchise (thus most specifically, the fan base).
However, with such a respectable player such as Lillard backing out, his public declaration of Devin Booker as a potential replacement probably would have held some significant sway.
So, what if?
This conspiracy theory isn’t in any way stating that Damian Lillard was faking his injury, just merely speculating that the injury might have been nowhere near quite as bad as it appeared (although it didn’t appear that bad), or at least that it was an injury that he wasn’t capable of potentially recovering from quickly enough to participate in the All-Star festivities should he really have wanted to.
This conspiracy theory is centered around the idea that maybe Lillard didn’t want to participate in the game and shooting contest, and like Booker had mentioned in interviews in Phoenix, maybe he just wanted some extended mid-season rest, that he may have believed he needs in order to make a final strong push towards the playoffs.
This theory further speculated that Damian Lillard wanted Devin Booker to be his replacement, and that he full-well know that by backing out he was not only playing Booker in the perfect position to get the nod – but that the league was going to essentially be forced into taking him – who at least Phoenix Suns fans know was the perfect player to make the roster.
What fans do not know (and may never know) is if Devin Booker was already the first All-Star alternate in the event of an injury, and if Lillard knew that Book was going to make the team in his stead, but maybe could not say anything definitively – just in case.
If Lillard did know, then his statement that Booker should replace was more of a seemingly invisible wink and a nod towards Book that the Blazers point guard was giving him a head’s up to expect a call.
Either way, Damian Lillard is out, and Devin Booker is in. No matter what the situation was that got the Phoenix Suns atr in there, his selection is absolutely one of the best things to happen to the franchise, in a very long time.