The best thing you can say about the Phoenix Suns' 2024-25 regular season campaign is that the end is in sight. Despite continuing to battle for a play-in spot - even if "battle" is a generous word here - everybody knows that there is no deep playoff run in sight, even if they do somehow make the postseason.
There will be plenty of speculation this offseason as well, and much of it will center on Kevin Durant and head coach Mike Budenholzer. It feels like the 36-year-old Durant will move on - the Suns already attempted this at the deadline - although firing yet another head coach in after the first of his five year contract is complete would be a disaster financially.
The Suns need Devin Booker to be the cool head he's always been.
Amidst all this uncertainty the organization will always have Devin Booker - and although calls to even move him may grow louder - he is the superstar that at least gives the Suns a chance to be competitive. This season may have been a down year for him personally, but the smart money would be on him coming back with a bang next season.
Which was why it was so disappointing to see Booker take to social media to clap back after the recent loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, which came on national television and included Luka Doncic inadvertently giving this group the ultimate insult. The Suns only started really playing in the fourth when they were already down double-digits, and it was nowhere near enough to come back.
In the aftermath - and in a move that is very unlike Booker - he responded on X to the handle @LakeShowYo to apparently out who the account belongs to. The reply was quickly deleted, although we all know anything that appears on the internet is never truly gone thanks to eagle-eyed fans who screen grab everything.
this photo is COLD 🥶 pic.twitter.com/aTNIUixkbe
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) March 16, 2025
So the post lives on, and the fact Booker came to his senses quickly and got rid of the response is somehow even worse. That's not who he is and it is not what this franchise needs him to be. Rather it is the guy who always did his talking on the court and was one of the best players in the league on the way to the NBA Finals that the Suns need right now.
This could also add fuel to the argument some fans have that Durant has had a negative impact on Booker. We all know he has no problem going after people on social media, and his use of burner accounts in the past is well documented as well. That's just who Durant is and has always been - and given he's one of the best to ever do it - fans wear it as a badge of honor if he flies into their mentions.
The same is not true of Booker, and it couldn't have come at a worse time either. The team didn't play well once again - with lack of defensive effort a major issue - but Booker feels the need to go at fans on social media. Instead he should ignore the noise - as he has done so brilliantly for much of his career so far - and do his talking on the court. Summer can't come quick enough.