Suns' Ishbia: Devin Booker Trade Will 'Never Happen. It's 'Silly' amid Rockets Rumors
In the wake of a disappointing season in which they are spending an NBA-high $366.6 million in payroll and luxury tax, the Phoenix Suns are not preparing to completely tear down their roster this offseason.
Suns governor Mat Ishbia told ESPN's Tim MacMahon that a Devin Booker trade will "never happen" amid rumors that the Houston Rockets could pursue the four-time All-Star.
"It's silly," Ishbia added. "So here's what I'll tell you: I have Devin Booker in the prime. In order to win an NBA championship, you got to have a superstar. You got to have a great player."
MacMahon noted the Rockets have "repeatedly expressed" interest in Booker.
Despite having a wealth of young talent and plenty of extra draft picks to spare, the Rockets didn't act aggressively prior to the trade deadline.
SI.com's Chris Mannix reported on Feb. 3 that the Rockets were taking a "very disciplined approach" leading up to the deadline because they didn't want to break up their core group unless it was for a star-level player.
"As one exec put it, 'Unless you are calling them about Booker, they are not interested,'" Mannix wrote.
Booker has shown no interest in wanting to leave Phoenix, where he has spent his entire NBA career since being selected with the 13th pick in the 2015 draft. In fact, he told MacMahon that only playing for one franchise is something he takes very seriously:
"I mean, it's a rare breed. I take pride in the community in Phoenix, the people that have supported me since I was 18 when things were ugly. And the people that are with us, we just fell short of accomplishing what we want. So I want to do it, and I want to do it here. That's the responsibility of being a franchise player, and I wear that with honor. So it might not look the most pretty right now, but we got to get it done and I'm going to do it."
There are a lot of rumblings about the Suns' approach this summer, but most of the discussion revolves around Kevin Durant. They kicked the tires on dealing the two-time NBA Finals MVP, but a potential deal with the Golden State Warriors fell apart because he didn't want to move.
Per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, Durant's camp was "upset" the Suns had trade talks involving him. Things between the two sides have gotten to the point where "it's hard to see him staying in Phoenix beyond this season," Rankin added.
Even though Durant is still a great player, it would be much easier for the Suns to justify trading him than Booker. He will turn 37 in September with just one year and $54.7 million remaining on his current contract.
Booker is going to be 29 in October and still has three years remaining on his contract after this season.
The Suns absolutely need to undergo significant changes this offseason. They're paying nearly $71 million more between payroll and luxury tax than any other team in the NBA, but their 30-36 record has them 2.5 games out of the No. 10 seed in the race for the final spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament.
Whatever changes the Suns can make this summer, dealing a 28-year-old who is an established star with a stated desire to make it work with this franchise would only push them further away from contention.
