3 goals for the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker for the 2023-24 season.
2. Be top 10 in the NBA in assists.
This is extremely important, because the role of Booker is going to change now that Beal and Durant have joined himself and Deandre Ayton. It may be that Cam Payne is still technically the starting point guard come opening night next season. New head coach Frank Vogel seems to like him and the organization might not get additional adequate cover in free agency.
Even if that does happen, it is unlikely Payne will close games. Even when on the court he will often be told to give the ball to Booker, and get out of the way. This new playmaking role is one which should excite not only the player and his teammates, but also fans as well.
We’ve seen Booker do this before, but he moved away from it when Paul was on the roster. With Durant capable of doing whatever he wants offensively, he too is going to want to see Booker get the team into their sets, for Durant to then finish off a large number of their plays. The same is true for Beal, who isn’t really a true point guard himself.
Booker averaged 5.5 assists last season, which was fine. Twice in his career, between 2018-2020, he posted 6.8 and 6.5 per game. We know he is capable, and this will be the first time since then that he will be expected to do more of the playmaking, only this time, he is going to have the level of teammate he could have only dreamt about before.
Last season, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers finished 10th in the league in assists at 7.3 per game. This was tied with Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings, a fabulous passer, but somebody who is not even a guard. There is no reason Booker can’t crack the top 10 next year, and it should be goal for him. To achieve this would be huge for the Suns.