Suns refuse to learn from Devin Booker mistake they won't stop repeating

The Phoenix Suns have begun the NBA season 1-2, with Devin Booker once again being tasked with leading the charge on a nightly basis. To say he has done just that would be telling a lie, because he has been as passive as when Kevin Durant was in town. Having Dillon Brooks take nearly five more field goal attempts each night is not on, and it is on Booker to be more assertive.

The 28-year-old is far from the only problem in The Valley however, and the fact they already rank 29th in defensive rating - giving up 124.8 points per game - is disappointing. Help is soon coming in the form of Jalen Green - who could be back as soon as this coming Wednesday from his hamstring issue - which Mark Williams is available again having not played in their first back-to-back.

Suns determined to use Booker as primary playmaker again.

Despite being given every opportunity to sign some point guards this offseason - which culminated in letting a talented one head to Europe - the Suns seem set on allowing Booker to continue in this role. But as we've seen in the past, trying to be the lead scorer while also taking care of everybody else on each possession is unsustainable.

It is understandable that the front office wants to get all of the value that they can out of Booker having signed a monster extension. But they're expecting him to do too much each night, and at this point it almost has parallels to LeBron James during his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Yes the supporting cast in Phoenix is better - but like LeBron - Booker is being tasked with doing it all.

We've seen how that story ends before, only this time could also see Booker decide he'd be better served continuing his career elsewhere to try and win. Grayson Allen has done an admirable job in trying to help out his teammate, and in their own win of the season so far he dished out a team high seven assists.

But we all know Allen will never be asked to run the show for large periods of a game, while backup point guard Collin Gillespie doesn't excel in that role either. He's improved immensely on last season, but he's at his best when he brings energy off the bench on the defensive end, with any offensive contributions feeling more like found money.

It may be that the introduction of Green changes everything, but it is hard to see how that can happen. When Durant was in town and Booker was being asked to be a playmaker and scorer, the team floundered. Why would it be any different with a guy who will never be the play that Durant is? We know how this ends, so why do the front office want to sit through this story?