Suns are committing a cardinal sin with Devin Booker

The Phoenix Suns have had an eventful offseason - and although there are no longer any certaintys in The Valley - Devin Booker is about as close as it gets to a sure thing out there. The 28-year-old is now the center of the franchise again after the departures of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, and Tim Legler thinks he will thrive as a result.

Suns fans also seem to be behind this new roster, a welcome change from the in-fighting that has taken place across the last two seasons. Not coincidentally, that also coincided with Durant and Beal's tenure with the team. Everything is all about Booker again, while the supporting cast are young, hungry and look like they have an interest in defending.

Suns wasting a prime Booker season like this is criminal.

Yet for all the renewed optimism that the organization is pedalling, the inescapable reality is that the Suns are about to waste one of Booker's prime years in this league. If you thought a 36 win campaign was bad - and boy was it - chances are you've seen nothing yet in the loaded Western Conference.

That's what the two-year, $145 million extension was for though, so that Booker can at least get paid if this rebuild does not turn around as quickly as the front office hopes. It certainly won't in 2025-26, with Jalen Green rumored to be getting a shot at point guard and 18-year-old Khaman Maluach going to be given the chance to contribute right away.

The Suns did once build a winner around Booker, but that was when they had time on their side. Making the NBA Finals when he was just 24-years-old, the franchise was arguably ahead of schedule. Then owner Mat Ishbia came in and through a series of short-sighted moves blew all of that up and sent Booker back to square one.

Fans say they won't mind cheering for a young and rebuilding roster as long as they play hard, but that way of thinking is going to be given a stern examination. It's entirely possible Booker puts up 30 a night and has career highs in points, usage and touches. He's probably going to be an All-Star again even amongst all the loses.

But that's not what he or any superstar wants if they have any interesting in winning a championship as they close in on 30. Perhaps the clue to all of this was Booker getting a player option on the second year of that extension, meaning he can hit eject if he wants to. Chances are it won't even get to that point, he'll be long gone by the end of the decade if this doesn't go well.

Most depressingly of all - even if next season defies all expectations - it will still be seen as a failure from the perspective of a Booker prime year. If the Suns somehow get home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs - which feels ridiculous even typing - then even that will fall short of where Booker should be at this point in his career if they get bumped. What a waste.