As the 2025 NBA trade deadline nears, teams with potentially disgruntled big names are being put on notice. Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat are headed toward a bitter end, Myles Turner and the Indiana Pacers are facing the reality of an expiring contract, and De'Aaron Fox and the Sacramento Kings are in a confusing trade saga.
For the Phoenix Suns, the latter development is the most significant of all, as it could be a preview of a situation they're destined to endure themselves.
Phoenix and Sacramento are in remarkably similar positions as they navigate the early stages of the second half of the 2024-25 regular season. They're just 0.5 games apart in the standings and each have three All-Stars in their rotation.
Unfortunately, they're also on pace to have to go through the Play-In Tournament to secure a postseason appearance and avoid the 2024-25 season being rendered an abject failure.
Time remains for both teams to live up to their potential and silence the skeptics. If the Fox rumors prove anything, however, it's that a star-studded team operating below the contender line is in danger of locker room issues that could derail any positive momentum.
For the Suns, that issue could rear its head with former All-Star Bradley Beal—or perhaps even franchise players Devin Booker or Kevin Durant.
Fox-Kings saga proof of how quickly Suns could implode
On paper, Phoenix has a remarkable three-headed monster with Beal, Booker, and Durant. Durant is a two-time NBA champion, Booker has already reached the NBA Finals himself, and Beal is a former All-NBA player in his own right.
Between Beal, Booker, and Durant, the Suns have a trio that has scored 62,317 career points in the regular season and have each produced memorable playoff performances.
Unfortunately, the talent assembled in Phoenix hasn't yet translated to the anticipated results. It's lost eight of its past 10 playoff games, failing to make it past the second round in any postseason since it reached the 2021 NBA Finals.
Mike Budenholzer is still in his first season as head coach of the Suns, but the team appears to be trending toward a similar outcome to what Sacramento is enduring.
If Phoenix continues to struggle, it's fair to believe that one of its stars could look for greener pastures. Durant is in a race against time at 36 years of age, while Beal is 31 and has only played nine playoff games since 2018.
Booker is only 28, but having come so close to winning a championship in 2021, it's fair to question how patient he'll be during this rather tumultuous saga.
Phoenix is on its third coach in as many seasons, and its quality of play is a far cry from when it won 64 games in 2021-22. Just three games above .500, one can only hope that its 9-3 record over its past 12 outings will be enough to silence any doubts ahead of the trade deadline.
Compounded by the Butler rumors that could endanger locker room morale, the Suns are closer to being in the same position as the Kings as they might think.