‘Talent only brings you so far’: Devin Booker opens up in a ‘very frustrating’ season for Suns

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Devin Booker is to a rather extent.

His Phoenix Suns imploded. After entering the season with the expectations of the championship, they are 10th in the west and fight for playing the tournament. They are amazed Kevin Durant Trying to trade it in February before he concluded an agreement that would send him to Golden State. Bradley Beal He was involved in multiple trade rumors despite his trade clause. There is a whisper for the future of coach Mike Budenholzer with the team to be poignant.

The sun is obviously on the verge of seismic changes this season, with all three of their stars on maximum contracts and not enough to show themselves.

So the big question is what does this mean for Booker, a 28-year-old who recently signed a four-year extension of Supermax of $ 224 million with Suns through the 2027-28 season?

When asked if he believed he could trade, he pointed out the fact that no one was safe, something that was home to everyone in the NBA when Dallas Mavericks sent Luka Doncic-26-year-old, who is considered a top player in Los Angeles in February.

“Look at the situation that has been given here,” Booker told Fox Sports. “I understand that it’s a job. I’ve been a long long time. Luke is probably the craziest store we’ve seen. But the game just goes on.”

The owner of Sunsa Mat Ishbia Recently said ESPN That shopping booker in this off -season season would not be “added”, adding, “I have Devin Booker in the Prime Minister. To win the NBA Championship, you must have a superstar.” Booker is also obviously not interested in trade.

But it is clear that frustrations are becoming for Booker, whose Suns have reached the NBA 2021 finals, but since then they have not been able to pass the second round of the playoffs.

During the recent trip to Los Angeles, Booker could not without feeling demolished how many things had changed about four years ago, when he stood in front of the same cabinet, celebrating that he had just won the LA Clippers in the Western Conference Final.

He remembers the scene vividly.

He and his teammates poured water over the head of Chris Paul. Deandre Ayton, lay on the carpet, hugged the trophy of the conference finals and asked, “Why is it so hard?” Booker fell asleep, hoping to win his first championship in his first post -season appearance.

Fast forward until March 16, when Booker was in the same place, but the worlds separated.

After losing to Lebron James without Lakers, he was surrounded by a semicircle of journalists who asked him different readings of the same question: How can the sun be so bad despite having so many talent?? Durant left the locker room before talking to reporters. The mood was awful because the Suns slide continued after the month of February, when they went 3-10.

Booker is not a sugar coat that she felt the opposite.

“Very frustrating,” Booker told Fox Sports. “We celebrated the Western Conference Finals here. I stood in the same place.”

‘The Sun are nasty in basketball’ | Object

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It is confusing that the Suns are in this position given that they have a coach with championship experience in Budenholzer, a double champion and a double final MVP in Durant and seven All-Star appearances between Booker (four) and Beala (three).

So, seriously, what is the problem?

“Talent brings you only so far,” Booker told Fox Sports. “I was in teams with fewer talent who found ways to get more victories. These are just a little thing. What people always say, the details of the game. Although it sounds like we should know that in this part of our career, it’s just something you need to form and develop and learn through attempts and mistakes.

Budenholzer inserted Suns’ problems on the effort, saying, “We need a little more than everyone.” He also included this category in this category, after a game in which Durant chirped into it shortly after they had exchanged words earlier this month during the game. Durant-Koji scored his 15th All-Star appearance in February, with an average of 26.4 points at 52.6% of the shooting, including 41.6% outside the arch, together with 6.1 jumps and 4.3 assists in the first incident as evidence of how much they both worry about trying to correct the ship.

The Suns have now won two games in a row, beating Toronto on Monday and Chicago on Wednesday. But they have a hard move, including dealing with some of the best teams in the East in the next three games, at the best seed of Cleveland, runner -up Boston and Milwaukee fifth seed.

For Booker, the time with Suns was a Rollercoaster. He saw that they were not even released in the first six seasons until squeezing in the 2021 finals. Then Ishbia turned the team on her head to get Durant, followed by Beal. Last season, the disadvantages could be switched to injuries.

But this season the sun is out of pronunciation.

Booker was here through all this, growing into a four-time All-Star, a double all-nba choice and a double Olympic gold medal. On average, at 37.4 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 37.4 minutes of this season, while it fired 45.7 % from the field and 34.7 % outside the onion.

Last summer, Steve Kerr called Booker “Unsung MVP” Tima USA after his gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Booker started every competition and finished with a plus-minute grade of +130 in 11 games, which is most of all on the team.

As early as 2021, LeBron James, unforeseen, expressed a similar sense of the Booker, tweeting that he was a “most desirable player in our league” after being demolished for the All-Star game. (Later, he was appointed by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as a replacement of an injury to Anthony Davis.)

When Booker asked if he had the respect he deserved, he shrugged.

“Of the people I respect,” Booker told Fox Sports. “I wouldn’t want it otherwise. Social media, they can do what they want. When it is claimed that in two halls of celebrities, (including) one, (who is) probably the best player who has ever lived, it means a lot. I developed a good relationship with all these guys during the summer at the Olympic Games. I can feel respectful when they talk.”

Booker did not make an All-Star game this year, but it is clear that those closest to him deeply appreciate what he brings to the field every night, especially Ishbia, who claims he is an untouchable team player.

So, since the Sun’s future remains uncertain, Booker decides to hope that he will be able to think of a way to transform things again, and he can continue to play for the franchise that has drawn it in 13th place in 2015.

Booker often thinks of how the Suns climbed from the basement four years ago, to which they recently reminded him as he stood in that locker room in Los Angeles.

Decides to believe that I can do it again.

“We were at the bottom of the league,” Booker told Fox Sports. “So it’s something I saw that it could turn. I saw that it was before. So it’s a motivation. Just do it.”

Melissa Rohlin is NBA writer for Fox Sports. Earlier covered the league for Sports Illustrated, Los Angeles Times, News Group for Bay Area and San Antonio Express-nws. Follow her on Twitter @Melisarohlin.

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