Booker Will Get A New Coach; the Fifth of His Career. Has He Been Let Down by The Suns?
Devin Booker is only 22, and, after his fourth season in the league, can still be seen as one of the biggest talents in the league. But, at this point, we’d have to ask whether the Suns are wasting his talents. In the last four years, the Suns have never won more than 24 games in a single season, with a low of 19 games this year.
Now, the Suns are searching for the fifth head coach in five years. Kokosov was only hired last year, and did the best with what he got (he didn’t even have a decent point guard most of the year), but was fired after a single season. Of course, it’s no surprise that a team will fire their head coach after just 19 wins in a year, but the question is whether a different coach would’ve gotten more wins.
This means that Booker will also get his fifth different head coach, and it’ll only be his fifth season in the league. Five different coaches are quite a lot, for example, Dwyane Wade, in his 16 seasons has only had 5. The longer it takes, and the longer the Suns can’t win games, it’s becomes more surprising that Booker hasn’t asked for a trade yet. Of course, he seems to be very content in Phoenix, as he just signed a 5-year maximum extension at the beginning of the season.
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Booker has continued to show his potential the last few seasons, keeping up his stats, setting several records, such as scoring 70 points in a single game, got the Suns’ record for most points in a single quarter, and almost became the first franchise player to score 50 points in three straight games. So, he has proven that he belongs in the NBA, but what is he still doing with the Suns? If they continue on this path, it will be a long time before they ever reach the post-season.
On top of that, what are his great stats actually worth if it’s not getting them anywhere? Of course, you need more than one good player to reach the playoffs, but Booker couldn’t even get them close to it. In theory, the Suns only need one or two decent draft picks to have a brighter future, and follow the path of Philadelphia’s ‘Process’. But, where the 76ers had a real plan, that doesn’t seem to be the case in Phoenix.
There’s still hope for next season, as the Suns traded for Kelly Oubre Jr. halfway through the season. Oubre showed some great potential during his time with the Wizards, so he can grow into a real asset for the team. Hopefully for Booker (and all the fans), the Suns will be able to land a great point guard in the draft; how fun would it be to get Steve Nash’s godson R.J. Barrett to Phoenix; or if they are awarded the first pick once again, get Zion Williamson.
