Damian Lillard is a superstar who does not need to be reminded that the grass is not always greener on the other side, and it is a cautionary tale for Devin Booker that should make him want to remain with the Phoenix Suns for life.
Booker would end up coming back to The Valley if he left
Now approaching his 30th birthday, Booker is on pace to be the best player in franchise history when all is said and done. Not only would leaving threaten that incredible record (the Suns have had some amazing former players in the past), but it would also sour the relationship with fans and, worst of all, not guarantee him a championship.
That is all that he wants at this point at a time when it has become harder to achieve that goal. The front office, to their credit, keeps retooling to try again with Booker, but when you have made the mistakes that they have, it is hard.
Lillard left the comfort of being the face of the franchise with the Portland Trail Blazers for a much more realistic chance at a chip alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Milwaukee Bucks.
Injuries played their part, but after only 138 games across two seasons, he is now back where it all started, having been waived by the Bucks. His chance to win a title has likely come and gone, but Lillard at least gets to finish his story with the Trail Blazers the right way and one day get his jersey retired. Which he will.
Booker may think that joining his hometown Detroit Pistons would give him more success (not that owner Mat Ishbia is having that), but it does not. He would become just another player with any other organization in the NBA—an incredibly talented one and likely the best or second-best player on the team—but it would not be the same.
Phoenix will always be home for Booker, which is why he can't leave
You don't launch the second line of your signature shoe in a McDonald's in Sedona without having a special connection to a place, and few other superstars in the league have what Booker has created with Phoenix.
They drafted him, he grew as a person there, and they've even made the NBA Finals together.
He could throw all of that away on the promise of perhaps winning elsewhere - the pressure will always be on him in Phoenix, after all - but would it even mean as much? Devin Booker is basketball in Arizona, as Damian Lillard is up in Portland. It took him leaving to realize what that means, so now Booker doesn't have to.
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