Suns' Devin Booker Reportedly 'Remains the Foundation' After Mike Budenholzer Firing

The Phoenix Suns fired head coach Mike Budenholzer on Monday, and there are likely more changes coming for the team this offseason.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Booker won't be a part of those potential changes.

"From my understanding, he remains the foundation of everything they're doing in Phoenix," Charania said on NBA Today. "Everything else, though, has been up for discussion with the Suns except for Devin Booker."

Booker has been with the Suns for his entire 10-year career, experiencing the highs of reaching the NBA Finals in 2021 along with the lows of failing to make the playoffs, as Phoenix did this year.

The 28-year-old has played for seven different coaches now, including three different coaches over the last three seasons.

Though Phoenix has had different stars and veterans on its roster, it seems Booker's voice carries the most weight. The Athletic's Doug Haller, Sam Amick and Fred Katz reported that part of Budenholzer's firing was because of his "contentious relationship with" Booker and other players.

While Booker will likely stay put this offseason, some of his co-stars could be on the move. Charnia reported that Kevin Durant, who was a part of trade talks during the regular season, will work with the Suns to find a trade this offseason.

"This is just the start of what's going to be multiple major changes in Phoenix from a roster perspective," Charania said. "That is going to start with Kevin Durant. I'm told the Suns and Durant, as well as his business partner Rich Kleiman, will be working together on his next trade home."

While Durant, 36, isn't the MVP candidate he once was, he's more than capable of being a top option on an NBA Finals team. He averaged 26.6 points this season and is looking to make another deep playoff run before the end of his career.

It's hard to gauge what kind of haul the Suns could get for Durant, but they'll hope to get enough in return to start putting together a championship roster centered around Booker.