B/R NBA Staff: Trade Packages for Phoenix Suns Star Guard Devin Booker
Few NBA players had themselves a moment like Devin Booker throughout the Orlando bubble.
The Phoenix Suns star guard averaged 30.5 points per game on 50.3 percent shooting over eight contests, and he had one of the most iconic moments of the entire experience. The Suns narrowly missed the playoffs, but Phoenix's 8-0 record to close out the year gave the franchise perhaps its first sincere glimmer of hope over the past decade.
Bright as the future looks, the talk has turned since the 2019-20 season concluded. Rumors surrounding Booker's desire for a trade didn't take long to emerge, and neither did conflicting reports stating there was "no truth" to Phoenix's nightmare scenario.
Regardless of whether Booker wants out—and whether the Suns would consider dealing him—one thing is certain: The 24-year-old's value has likely never been higher.
With Trade SZN officially upon us, Bleacher Report's NBA staff cooked up five trades that just might get Phoenix thinking this offseason if push came to shove.
Devin Booker to the Sacramento Kings
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Phoenix Suns trade: Devin Booker
Sacramento Kings trade: Buddy Hield, Nemanja Bjelica, No. 12 pick, No. 35 pick (via DET) and 2022 first-round pick (top-three protected)
Fourteen years is an agonizingly long time to wait for anything, let alone a playoff berth in a league where more than half the teams make the postseason cut. The Kings are desperate to end this drought—remember when they threw $89 million at the 2017 versions of Zach Randolph, George Hill and Vince Carter?—and Booker could be their rain cloud.
The all-Kentucky backcourt of Booker and De'Aaron Fox would rank among the Association's toughest covers, and despite the not-insignificant trade cost, the cupboard would remain well stocked around them.
If Marvin Bagley III pans out—he's averaging 21.0 points and 10.8 rebounds per 36 minutes across his career—the Kings would immediately have one of the top under-25 tandems. All three offer some level of mismatch potential, and together they could help Sacramento win enough right now and possibly win big down the road.
Phoenix, saddling its own decade-long playoff drought, would want to maintain some competitiveness and build off the progress made in Monty Williams' first season.
If the Suns could redirect some of Booker's on-ball responsibilities, Hield could replace all of his shooting. Bjelica would add spacing and secondary playmaking working either alongside or behind Deandre Ayton.
Still, with Ayton—by far the most important player on a Booker-less Suns squad—only 22 years old, the Suns should look to land longer-term assets, too. This trade would give them a second lottery pick in this draft, plus an early second in a class that's best trait is its depth. Finally, a lightly protected future first from Sacramento is always inviting knowing the many missteps in this franchise's recent history.
Devin Booker to the Miami Heat
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Phoenix Suns trade: Devin Booker
Miami Heat trade: Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, Kelly Olynyk
If the Suns were ever to trade Booker, they'd almost certainly need another young star to take his place.
Enter Herro, who at just 20 years old is coming off a playoff run with the Heat in which he averaged 16.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists as a rookie, including dropping 37 off the bench against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Herro would be the perfect player to take Booker's place in Phoenix, a fellow Kentucky shooting guard who's coming off an even more impressive rookie season.
Robinson is quickly emerging as one of the NBA's best three-point shooters, having shot 44.6 percent (fourth-highest in the league) on 606 total attempts (fourth-most). Nunn averaged 15.3 points per game as a rookie (albeit at age 25) and could develop for another year or two behind Ricky Rubio. Olynyk helps stretch the floor, and his $12.2 million player option will turn into cap space next offseason.
A starting lineup of Rubio, Herro, Robinson, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Deandre Ayton with Mikal Bridges, Nunn and Cam Johnson off the bench would be one of the best collections of young talent in the NBA.
While Miami has done a great job of preserving future cap space, using it on Booker would be money well spent.
A Big Three of Booker, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo may be the best the East has to offer, with two of the members still 24 or younger. With Andre Iguodala still on the roster as well, the Heat could be a Finals favorite if they re-signed both Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder.
Devin Booker to the Atlanta Hawks
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Phoenix Suns trade: Devin Booker, Kelly Oubre Jr.
Atlanta Hawks trade: Cam Reddish, De'Andre Hunter, No. 6 pick, 2021 first-rounder, 2022 protected first-rounder (via OKC)
The Atlanta Hawks are one of the few teams sitting on significant cap space this offseason. They could agree to pick for the Suns at No. 6 and finish a deal for Booker once the 2020-21 league year begins (approximately a week later).
The Suns would immediately shed significant salary in Booker and Oubre while taking back much cheaper contracts in Reddish (No. 10 in 2019), Hunter (No. 4 in 2019) and the No. 6 pick in the upcoming NBA draft. With that pick, Phoenix would have a chance to add a highly regarded prospect like Devin Vassell, Onyeka Okongwu, Deni Avdija or Killian Hayes.
Along with the incoming talent, the Suns would be able to keep the rights to Dario Saric (a restricted free agent) and still have $35 million in cap room to spend in free agency.
Meanwhile, the Hawks would add an explosive veteran scorer in Booker next to Young without giving up John Collins or Kevin Huerter. Atlanta would likely leap from the lottery into playoff contention, as Booker and Young would be a nightmare to defend.
If this trade configuration isn't suitable for the Suns, the Hawks' cap space makes it simple to substitute pieces like Collins for Hunter or Huerter for Reddish, etc. Phoenix would need to evaluate if Collins and center Deandre Ayton would be the right fit together, especially with Collins eligible for an extension this offseason.
Thanks to their cap flexibility, the Hawks might be the ideal trade partner for the Suns if Booker is pushing to leave Phoenix.
Devin Booker to the Chicago Bulls
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Phoenix Suns trade: Devin Booker, Kelly Oubre Jr.
Chicago Bulls trade: Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Thaddeus Young, 2020 No. 4 overall pick
With a new front office in Chicago, what better way to energize the fanbase than with a trade for Booker?
The Bulls should be thinking playoffs this year, and the addition of Booker and Oubre to a core of Wendell Carter Jr., Coby White and Otto Porter Jr. should be enough to grab a spot in the East.
Booker would be the most talented player to put on a Bulls uniform since MVP Derrick Rose and has a young core to grow around him. New head coach Billy Donovan did wonders with his trio of guards in Oklahoma City last year, seeing a huge jump in play from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and an All-Star year from Chris Paul.
For Phoenix, this is too good of a talent haul to pass up.
LaVine (25.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists) finished just two spots behind Booker on the NBA's scoring leaderboard this past season, and Markkanen could become the franchise's answer at power forward.
Getting the No. 4 overall pick in the draft also gives the Suns tons of possibilities, with players like Deni Avdija, Killian Hayes and Isaac Okoro all likely to be available.
A starting lineup of Ricky Rubio, LaVine, Mikal Bridges, Markkanen and Deandre Ayton could make some playoff noise in the West and would be set up to win for years to come.
—Swartz
Devin Booker to the Minnesota Timberwolves
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Phoenix Suns trade: Devin Booker
Minnesota Timberwolves trade: Jarrett Culver, James Johnson, Jarred Vanderbilt, No. 1 pick, No. 17 pick (via BRK)
The Minnesota Timberwolves are hoping to build a contender around franchise player Karl-Anthony Towns. In part because of his strong relationship with D'Angelo Russell, Minnesota acquired the All-Star guard from the Golden State Warriors ahead of February's trade deadline.
Booker is in that same circle of players, an explosive scorer who would give the Timberwolves a dynamic offensive backcourt. No one in next week's NBA draft will near Booker in immediate impact.
If Booker doesn't want to stay with the Suns, they could pivot with the top pick in the draft. Whether that's LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, Killian Hayes or one of the other top prospects, Phoenix would have its choice.
The Suns would also get the No. 17 pick from the Brooklyn Nets to add in another quality prospect, along with last year's No. 6 pick in Culver. Johnson would need to opt into the final year on his contract ($15.8 million) to make a deal legal, but he's all but a lock to do so since he won't earn close to that in free agency. Most of Vanderbilt's 2020-21 salary would need to be guaranteed to make the numbers check out cap-wise.
The T-Wolves would need to flesh out their depth, especially defensively. They would still have the means to bring back restricted free agent Malik Beasley, setting up what could be a top-scoring team in the NBA with Towns, Booker, Russell and Beasley.
—Pincus
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