Devin Booker has been the face of the Phoenix Suns essentially since he entered the NBA.
But there has been plenty of chatter about the Suns trading Booker this offseason. He, along with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, has been part of this latest era of Phoenix stars not living up to their hoped-for potential.
Booker's trade rumors took a turn on Thursday, though.
Suns owner Matt Ishbia was speaking with reporters, and this is what he had to say about himself and Booker:
“We’re very aligned on what we’re going to do. His mission and my mission are very similar. Let’s bring a championship to Phoenix.”
That doesn't sound like someone who's about to get traded.
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Booker, 28, has played 10 seasons with Phoenix since the Suns took him 13th overall out of Kentucky in 2015.
He has averaged at least 25 points per game for each of the last seven years.
Booker just put up a career-best assist total at 7.1 per game, too.
Booker has three years remaining on his contract, too. That could make him valuable for a potential acquiring team, but it also makes him valuable for Phoenix as a long-term piece.
The Suns don't have much of anything by way of draft capital, which is why Durant and Booker trades have been floated as a means of starting a total rebuild.
But Ishbia hasn't been shy about pursuing winning, even in ways that don't make perfect sense.
Whether it's logical for the Suns to keep Booker or not might not matter. Phoenix's owner wants to keep his franchise guy around.
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