The Phoenix Suns would be lost without franchise cornerstone Devin Booker, and if you cast your mind back a couple of years, the same was true of Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. We all know what happened there, with Lillard eventually being moved to the Milwaukee Bucks in an attempt to win. One has to wonder if Booker would ever contemplate the same.
Booker entering same rocky road once travelled by Lillard
Booker has already tasted the NBA Finals in Phoenix, a claim Lillard cannot and likely will never be able to make. But beyond that, the similarities are piling up, and they are worrying. Booker will turn 30-years-old soon after the season starts, and many believe the team is poised for regression.
Even if the additions of Miles Bridges and Luke Kennard end up propelling them into the best-case scenario, that would be a second-round elimination from the postseason.
There is no shame in that, but if the Suns fall short again, Booker might look around and realize this version of the roster has reached its peak. It's much better than where they were a year ago when Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal were kicked out, but they don't hang banners for exceeding expectations and winning 45 games.
Perhaps the franchise uses Brooks and his new extension, plus Bridges/Jalen Green, to trade for another star as they look to appease Booker. Whether that happens or not, Booker won't go public with his feelings, just like Lillard before him.
He is one of the rare superstars who is still with the organization that drafted him and is universally beloved by the fanbase, just like Lillard once was. Trying not to ruin that sentiment while also doing what is best for his career is an impossible needle to thread, as Giannis Antetokounmpo found out this offseason.
Booker needs to speak out to ensure he doesn't go route of Lillard
At this point, coming out and saying you're staying no matter what is what Booker should do, in the same way Nikola Jokic has on several occasions. If that is not what he wants, and we will know for sure by the end of this coming season, he needs to be vocal in asking for a trade as well.
Lillard's silence (and Antetokounmpo's for several years before that) only gave the fans false hope he would stay. A clean break is the best course of action, which Lillard now knows and Booker would be wise to remember.
He also needs to remember how Lillard's story ended with the Bucks because there is zero reason to think Booker would be any different. The grass is not always greener on the other side, and maybe staying in The Valley, never winning it all, and retiring an immortal is the way to go.
A feat Lillard will never be able to achieve thanks to his actions.
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