One NBA insider believes the Phoenix Suns shouldn’t only trade Kevin Durant this summer. He believes there is a huge reason to trade Devin Booker as well.
The Suns’ 2024-25 campaign has been a disaster. After getting officially eliminated from the playoff race this week, this year’s team will go down as the most expensive disappointment in league history after missing the postseason despite a $366 million roster.
Due to the massive contracts of Durant, Booker, and Bradley Beal, the organization is stuck and can’t make any meaningful moves unless they slash payroll. Unfortunately, Beal is nearly untradable and has been no help in getting a deal done. That leaves either trading Durant or Booker this summer. The assumption is that the 36-year-old is the odd man out. Especially after the team nearly traded him in February.
However, this week, The Athletic NBA insider John Hollinger made the case for why the Suns have to move both superstars if they truly want to get back to being a competitive team in the next few seasons.
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Phoenix Suns have no control over first-round picks until 2023!?!?
On paper, it seems like moving both of a team’s top players would be a bad idea. But Phoenix is in a horrible financial situation. They are deep into the second tax apron and its harsh penalties. They must get under it at all costs. That is why a Kevin Durant trade is a lock this summer.
However, there is a major reason why a Devin Booker trade should be considered too. That is the fact that the Phoenix Suns have no control over their first-round picks until 2032.
As Hollinger explains, the Houston Rockets have the option to swap top picks with Phoenix this year, in 2027, and in 2029. The Utah Jazz own their pick in 2031. And the Washington Wizards have control of the Suns’ picks in 2026, 2028, and 2030. Phoenix has put itself in an awful position on multiple fronts. That is why the NBA insider thinks the pair of stars should be moved, and he has a specific team in mind.
“The Suns have to trade Booker and Durant to the Rockets to get their picks back… Phoenix can’t do anything about the 2026 pick. But in a hypothetical deal with the Rockets, the Suns would get their lottery pick this June back from the Rockets, get Jalen Green back as a salary match, and entertain the fans with some empty calories en route to a couple of 23-win seasons.
“They could then grab another high pick in 2027 and hope to come out on the other end of a multi-year tank job in a few years the way teams like Oklahoma City, Cleveland, and Houston did.”
