The Phoenix Suns made one thing loud and clear this offseason, and that is that they plan to once again build around franchise cornerstone Devin Booker. With the second best offensive player on this roster now Jalen Green, the 28-year-old Booker is once again in complete control of the offense. That's not necessarily a good thing for the franchise's future though.
Booker surely doesn't want to waste some of his prime years in a rebuild - but the more you look at the roster the Suns have assembled - the more you realize that is exactly what this is. Defensively they are going to be better - and this unexpected move can help - but still nowhere near the levels required to push for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Booker's ceiling as a playmaker limits their potential to improve.
With the NBA season inching closer, Kevin O'Connor took to his podcast on the Yahoo! Sports channel recently and had content creator Legend of Winning along for the ride. They broke down the Pacific Conference - and although both were fans of the Suns' three draft picks this season - they were far less enthusiastic about Booker once again being deployed as a point guard.
As the pair see it - and they are not wrong - Booker as the primary creator puts a ceiling on how good this team can be, and it is because he is better as a secondary creator next to a true floor general. We've already seen the best version of this in the past, and it led to a run to the NBA Finals when Chris Paul was in town.
But if the Suns are adamant that Booker will again have the ball in his hands - and it might just be a better alternative to Green anyway - then get ready to see this team struggle. Fans like to point out what seems obvious to them when it comes to roster creation and minutes, and it's not like Booker will flounder in the role either. There's a lot going on behind the scenes we don't know about.
But expecting a first year head coach in Jordan Ott to give Booker the ball to create for everybody seems like a recipe for disaster. It could cost him his job before he's ever gotten a chance to grow with this roster. About the only positive you can see here is the fact Booker in the last two seasons has averaged the most amount of assists per game in his career.
But that was partly out of necessity in 2023-24 when there was no point guard and Bradley Beal was injured half the time, and last season was because Tyus Jones struggled and Kevin Durant still needed the ball in his spots. Dishing out dimes at a high rate does not equal success, and the Suns are in for a rude awakening if this is their plan for Booker because it will stunt their growth.