Controversial NBA Pundit Says Devin Booker Should Leave Phoenix Suns

Firebrand commentator Stephen A. Smith doesn’t usually need much of a reason to mouth off, and when it comes to his opinions, he doesn’t tend to keep them to himself, instead opting to blast them out to all and sundry.

The Phoenix Suns failed to secure a postseason berth, with their 36-46 losing record season leaving Mike Budenholzer’s team narrowly off the play-in places, and Smith believes that Booker should look to leave the PHX Arena franchise.

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Booker was drafted by the Suns in 2015, in the first round, and he has faithfully served the team for a decade and may now be considering his options. The first half of his ten years at Phoenix saw them struggle, failing to get to the playoffs; however, in 2020/21, they reached the NBA Finals, with Monty Williams’s side falling to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games.

There then followed three consecutive seasons in the playoffs before 2024/25’s failure, and Smith feels the time is right for Booker to seek out new opportunities. When asked if Booker should move on, Smith stated.

“I think so. We’ve got to look at the Phoenix Suns situation. They went all in to get Kevin Durant. It’s kind of inexplicable,”

“If I’m Devin Booker, this is what you’re going to do if you’re the Phoenix Suns. You have to move Kevin Durant or Devin Booker. If you don’t move Devin Booker and you move Kevin Durant, you’re going to get assets, but those assets that you’re going to get is basically a reclamation project. If you’re Booker, you don’t want to stick around for that.” Smith added.

Smith has also hit out at the management running the Suns, commenting with his usual bravado, saying that Phoenix owner Matt Ishbia is “on the verge of being recognized as the worst owner in the history of basketball.”

This forced Ishbia to respond.

“I’m not the one shooting or coaching,” he said. “My job is to provide resources. I focus on winning, the community, and the fan experience, and commenting, “changes are coming”.

28-year-old Booker has completed ten consistent seasons with the Suns, hitting over 20 average points per game in nine of those campaigns, and there would be no shortage of interest in the 4-time NBA All-Star pick, who has also grabbed two Olympic gold medals.

However, though there is much talk of a Booker trade, it’s not something that Ishbia is entertaining; his comments are very clear on the matter.

"Never happen (a Booker trade)"

"It's silly. So here's what I'll tell you: I have Devin Booker in the prime. In order to win an NBA championship, you got to have a superstar. You got to have a great player." Ishbia added.

However, if Booker were to push for such a move, one wonders if they’d have the power or inclination to prevent it, not least as they could net strong resources from such a trade.