On Wednesday, Devin Booker agreed to a two-year, $145 million extension with the Phoenix Suns, making history in the process, as it's the highest annual extension in league history. The $72.5 million he'll make is more than the $71.25 million average annual value that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will make after signing his supermax extension.
That's a lot of money to commit to one player. ESPN's Kevin Pelton graded the extension as a failure for Phoenix, saying that Booker is more of a top-25 player, not a top-10 one. Pelton wrote that when the extension kicks in, it's "more likely that Booker will be a complementary piece than the centerpiece the Suns have made him."
Phoenix fans love Booker. He's been around since the 2015 season, joining a lowly team that eventually turned into the best squad in the West. Rather than build on their success, Mat Ishbia plunged the team into a hole that they're struggling to climb out of.
Ishbia was 100% against the Suns trading Booker, even though it would have netted the team the draft assets they needed to enter a rebuild. Phoenix isn't in a place where it can significantly improve the roster. You can draft capital and financial flexibility to do that. The Suns have neither.
So, while it's nice to see Booker get another payday, it's understandable why there has been considerable backlash to how much he'll make when he's 32 and 33, which is when the extension will kick in.
Booker extension will most likely age extremely poorly for Suns
Phoenix doesn't want to lose Booker. He didn't want to leave Phoenix. Having commitment from your star player is key to winning a title, but the Suns aren't close to winning a championship, no matter what Ishbia thinks.
Committing to pay Booker as if he'll be the best guard in the NBA when he's 32 and 33 is risky, considering he isn't the best guard now. He's good, but odds are that he won't be playing the best basketball of his career when the extension kicks in. Those days might already be in the rearview mirror.
The Suns are dealing with one nightmare contract that belongs to Bradley Beal. They could waive-and-stretch the remainder of his contract, which would finally remove him from the roster, but not from the payroll. He'd make an estimated $19.4 million from Phoenix for five years. The Suns would be creating short-term financial relief, delaying another Beal headache for the future.
Booker is better than Beal, so this isn't meant to compare the two players, but agreeing to give Booker that much money will create another nightmare contract for Phoenix down the road. It might hurt to admit, but there is a good chance Booker will one day be the most overpaid player in the league, and by a wide margin.
Good for Booker for getting more money, but good luck to the future Suns on finding a way to navigate that situation.