Devin Booker provides ray of light amidst dark season with latest record

The Phoenix Suns watched their season hit another low point on Monday, as they fell in overtime to the Portland Trail Blazers. A frisky opponent to be sure, but one that is not likely to even make the play-in tournament come the end of the season.

Even worse, this was the second game in a row that the Suns had lost to the same team, with former first overall pick Deandre Ayton once again going off against his former team. Just like he did when they matched up a couple of days previous. Ayton was always going to be up for these meetings, but it is a sign of how far away from contention Phoenix really is that this could have happened.

Devin Booker was on hand to provide some positivity on the night.

That's because his 34 points officially made him the top scorer in Suns' history, as he overtook the great Walter Davis for the accolade. There was a certain irony to Booker hitting that milestone in this particular game however, as it served as a microcosm of their season as a whole. A campaign dotted with fine individual displays from Booker and Kevin Durant, but also far too much losing.

It was a shame to see Booker's night spoilt by not only the Trail Blazers - but a former teammate who Ayton who the organization willingly drove out of town - but the bigger picture here was that the Suns are relevant as long as they have Booker. Not being named an All-Star this season certainly hurts, but let's not forget he is a large part of the reason Durant wanted to come to The Valley.

It may be that Durant ends up back with a former team before the trade deadline passes, but if anything that only highlights the importance of Booker further. If the Suns do decide to trade away a 36-year-old in order to take a step back and return stronger next season, having Booker leading the way will be central to that plan.

Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors has been spoken about as a player the franchise is rumored to have interest in - and despite still being considered young and with a ton of upside - he is only six years younger than Booker. Whether that is actually a positive or not is unclear, but you get the point. Keep Booker in Phoenix, and you have a chance to attract players and win.

Booker is on course to go down as the greatest player in Suns' history, and only the kind of unforeseen trade that seemingly blindsided Luka Doncic could change that. There is no indication that is going to ever happen, unless the player himself asks to be traded. Until then, moving Durant remains the best hope of improving this roster.

The scoring efforts of Booker against the Trail Blazers were also a painful reminder that he has not been his dominant self so far this season. Nights like that when he's going for 34 he certainly can be, but they have been few and far between up to this point. More assertiveness from the player, and there could yet be a happy ending to this season.