NBA – Devin Booker on the move after KD trade? “At 29, he’s going to have to…”

Par Guillaume Kagni | Journaliste sportif

It was expected, but the Suns have finally decided: Kevin Durant will play for Houston next season. An exchange that could have major consequences for the future career of Devin Booker, who is too talented to lose his prime.

In 2021, Phoenix competed in the Finals against the Bucks with a young, talented squad centered around the excellent Devin Booker. Four years later, just as the franchise seemed destined to play the leading roles, it fell back into anonymity, the fault of dubious market decisions. Not every opportunity is a good one.

Indeed, when Kevin Durant expressed his desire to leave Brooklyn following the fiasco of his trio with Kyrie Irving and James Harden, the Suns’ new owner, Matt Ishbia, pounced on the opportunity, thinking he’d strike a blow in the Western Conference. The problem is that, in the NBA, you need a roster as deep as it is talented to hope for the Larry O’Brien trophy, and the simple Booker/Durant pairing wasn’t enough.

Devin Booker on the move after the trade?

After just over two years and a final season that ended without playoffs, the experiment officially came to an end with KD’s departure for Houston. Not in a position of strength, Phoenix didn’t get the most attractive package, which raises big questions about the future. What if, in the face of this uncertainty, Devin Booker also asked to leave his long-time franchise? In a video available on his YouTube channel, consultant Kenny Beecham expressed this fear:

Devin Booker was only 24 when Phoenix went to the Finals with Chris Paul and his young teammates. The thinking then was that he was young and could return to this level of competition. When the Bucks lifted the title, he looked on with determination. But at nearly 29, he finds himself in a situation where he sees all the stars better surrounded than him.

I really hate the direction the Suns are going. From the start, I’ve been in the camp that says Devin Booker is going to stay with the team. But now, if I’m his agent and I look at what he’s been through all these years, with teams that only won 19 games in the season… At 29, he’s going to have to go back to that situation.

Devin Booker’s early career was pretty chaotic in a Suns franchise that had no direction whatsoever before he showed the extent of his talent. After a stint in the Finals and a duo with Kevin Durant, he’s about to go through another difficult period, with no prospect of victory. Will he persevere in this environment, or seek a new challenge?