Devin Booker Linked With Possible Move To The Knicks, Spurs, Or Thunder

The Phoenix Suns need to rebuild their roster on the fly after a disastrous sweep loss in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. With minimal draft or trade assets, the Suns need to re-tool their squad to compete next season, but their struggle has prompted the Knicks, Spurs, and Thunder to monitor Devin Booker's trade availability, according to Fox Sports.

"Unconfirmed rumors already have floated that there is mutual interest between (Booker) and the New York Knicks. For what it's worth, the Knicks have a surplus of first-round picks and could offer a player package that checks several of the boxes posed by a Western Conference scout without impacting their starting lineup: rim protector, Mitchell Robinson; point guard, Miles McBride; rugged power forward, Precious Achiuwa."

The Fox Sports article by Ric Bucher also revealed that an Eastern Conference GM has said it's unclear if Booker would stay before a separate executive from the East suggested the OKC Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs as Booker's next destination.

"The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder could see Booker as an ideal fit. For the Spurs, it would be pairing him with rookie big man Victor Wembanyama. The Thunder already have a promising young backcourt in point guard Shai Gilgeous Alexander and shooting guard Jalen Williams, but both being practically the same size as the 6'6" Booker, that could make for a formidable trio of two-way threats."

The Spurs and Thunder rank among the leaders in draft capital, so they could pay a big price to replenish the Suns' assets but at the cost of their franchise superstar.

Booker averaged 27.1 points and 6.9 assists in the season and 27.5 points and 6.0 assists in the playoffs. The 27-year-old might get antsy soon if the Suns continue down their path of being unable to compete in an absolutely stacked Western Conference.

The Suns Feel Their Roster Is Championship-Caliber

Despite the conventional wisdom, the Phoenix Suns believe they're in a strong enough position to run it back next season with their core trio of Booker, Bradley Beal, and Kevin Durant. Team owner Mat Ishbia openly said that 26 teams in the NBA would trade their entire team for the Suns' roster.

"Ask the other 29 GMs— 26 of them would trade their whole team for our whole team and our draft picks and everything as is... The house is not on fire. We're in a great position. It's not hard to fix. It's not like we're like, 'Hey, we don't have enough talent to win a championship.' We have enough talent to win a championship."

Ishbia is flat-out lying because there are eight teams in the Conference Semi-Finals who would firmly disagree with that. Even the teams that aren't in the Playoffs anymore wouldn't do this, including the Lakers, Spurs, and so many more. 

With Kevin Durant's age and habit of switching teams, the Suns won't be able to recover what they gave up for him in a trade. The same goes for Bradley Beal, a player nobody wanted to trade for after he received his no-trade clause but someone the Suns traded for anyway as a negative asset whose value has plunged even further down.

Booker is the only one with franchise-altering value, as a trade involving him would likely give them assets that could give them the room to rebuild a cogent roster around Durant and Beal, given their trade value won't result in a profit for Phoenix.