With the NBA Finals now officially in the books and a champion crowned, the always opinionated Bill Simmons took to his podcast to chop it up with his good friend Joe House.
Although the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs rightly dominated the conversation, he had a mailbag that meant they also spent some time on the Phoenix Suns. There were both good and bad parts to digest.
Simmons doesn't believe Suns can win with Devin Booker
One of the questions posed by a listener involved which players you could not win a championship with if this person was your go to guy. Simmons had only two players who currently fit the criteria (House put forward Joel Embiid which Simmons kind of accepted), in Devin Booker and Jaylen Brown.
We can't say he's being a homer here either, as Brown plays for his beloved Boston Celtics and has already helped that franchise win a championship.
Simmons also hit Suns fans with the painful reality that Booker's stock has fallen in the last few seasons throughout the league, and it is hard to disagree. If so many people believe the 29-year-old can't be the best player on a title winning team, then what is the front office doing here?
Thankfully the conversation only trended upwards after this, with Simmons putting forward the idea that Phoenix now has the perfect blueprint to build around Booker. Do what the Knicks just did with Jalen Brunson, creating the perfect roster to highlight his skills and hide his weaknesses.
Simmons wasn't done there either, as other "stars" such as Trae Young didn't make the cut in the first place as they are not on the level of even being considered the kind of player who can lead a franchise to a championship.
Booker still belongs in that conversation, but he is being left behind in these conversations. The Knicks might have gifted the Suns an unwanted tag upon winning it all, but at least they showed them the way back to the promised land in the process.
The front office need to get a dependable co-star next to Booker, plus some tenacious defenders (even better if they're two-way stars like Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby) and a center who can at least live on the same court as Victor Wembanyama.
The Knicks might even lose one such big to The Valley this offseason. That kind of roster building looks simple on paper, but is anything but and took years for New York to get right. There is a way for the Suns to get back to contention, but it starts with admitting Booker isn't the player he was five years ago.
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