The Phoenix Suns are done for the 2025-26 season, with players having already conducted their exit interviews. Dillon Brooks being hilarious as ever.
Thursday morning it was the turn of the front office and owner Mat Ishbia, and one soundbite in particular caught the ear of fans for all the wrong reasons.
Ishbia says Devin Booker won't be traded under any circumstances
Now saying that Booker will never be traded and will lead the franchise to a first ever championship sounds like a massive pro right?
The Suns just made the playoffs and having their owner come out and say Booker is going nowhere is exactly what The Valley wants to hear.
Only that is the kind of talk you usually hear before a star player is inevitably moved or a head coach gets canned.
Mat Ishbia said Devin Booker is the Suns' franchise player and will be here in Phoenix to lead the Suns to a championship.
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) April 30, 2026
"Devin Booker is not getting traded."
It was not so long ago that Ishbia said all of the right things about both Mike Budenholzer and Frank Vogel being part of the solution in Phoenix. How is that working out now?
Obviously in the case of Booker it is different, and Ishbia is coming out publicly to back his star player after an excellent season for the team.
This could also be viewed as the superstar receiving some love after, and we'll be honest here, one of the quieter seasons by his amazing standards.
There were no real trademark moments, no two weeks tears from the 29-year-old in which he puts the league on notice.
Instead it was Dillon Brooks who was their most consistent player on both ends in the postseason, while he also made the more clutch shots in their series loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This is Ishbia coming out and saying that he's riding with Booker no matter what, and hearing that has to feel good.
Still, the list of players who have been backed like this before then going on to be traded is long, and adding Booker to that feels unnecessary.
Ending on a positive though and Ishbia will make whatever roster moves necessary to give Booker the best chance to compete again in the near future.
Booker has never given any indication he wants to leave either, and his own backing of head coach Jordan Ott was a nice touch during his own exit interview.
The Suns will one day have to content with life without Booker, but if Ishbia has his way that's not going to happen for the rest of this decade.
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