The Kevin Durant era is officially over in Phoenix, which means the franchise is once more completely in the hands of Devin Booker. Not a bad place to return to after a rocky few seasons, with the 28-year-old everything you would want from your cornerstone. There has never been any talk to the media when things were going wrong, Booker just turns up and goes about his business.
But even he would have to admit that last season was a poor one by his lofty standards. He might end up the best player in Suns' history by the time he's done, yet he didn't sniff an All-NBA or even All-Star team as Phoenix won just 36 games. With Durant gone the time is now for Booker to turn into the elite offensive talent we all know that he is capable of being once more.
Suns may return to using Booker as a point guard next season.
Yet for all the positive talk that Booker will be the offensive engine for the Suns in the absence of Durant, there is a major problem with that game plan. The Suns don't have a point guard on their roster. Certainly not one they can trust for an entire regular season, with Tyus Jones heading elsewhere after a disastrous season in Phoenix.
The organization might be able to hold onto Monte Morris and Collin Gillespie - but even if that does happen and they both have a positive impact off the bench - both are below average starting floor generals in this league. Jalen Green was the big piece the Suns got back for Durant from the Houston Rockets, but he is a shooting guard who like Booker can pile up points in a hurry.
To make matters worse, Bradley Beal is still on this roster. He is also more comfortable as a two-guard, and would prefer to take more shots than he passes up to teammates. Which brings up back to Booker, who it would be fair to say in the two full seasons Durant called The Valley home, was as passive as we have ever seen him.
Devin Booker isn't a point guard & this is an absolutely horrid depth chart for the Suns.
— Unicorn SZN (@unicorn_szn) June 22, 2025
You would need at least three basketballs to make this lineup happy. pic.twitter.com/mWVlTrm7bR
No figures sum that fact up more than his assist numbers, and his last two seasons have been the highest of his career. 2023-24 was then a career high at 6.9 per night, before Booker went higher again last season, dishing 7.1 per game. Contrast that with when Chris Paul was in town, and Booker was instead being teed by one of the best point guards of all-time.
Booker was a killer during this period, routinely going after opponents in a manner not quite as aggressive as Anthony Edwards, but with so much more intensity than the last two years. Which makes headlines like this laughable when you think about it. To make him a point guard once more would be taking away his greatest skill, but the Suns might have no choice to begin the season.
Green has never looked like a table-setter, while Beal's attempts at sharing the post with Booker in the past also did not go well. Given the Suns are still in the second apron - unless they go out and draft a long-term prospect at the position with the 10th pick in the draft - we might be seeing Booker back in this spot once more next season.