ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins doesn’t want Suns Devin Booker to become a 'loser'

Perkins on Booker’s time with Suns:

“This is gonna tell me a lot about Devin Booker. He’s just starting his prime. His prime has been activated. This team is not going nowhere. I don’t want to ever get to the point where I look at him and call him a loser, but if he comes to a place where he’s okay with being there and not leveling up to go to an organization where you actually can compete for a championship and you’re ready to just stay there for another rebuild, I got a problem with that.”

Booker has had no indication that he wants to leave the Valley and has continuously confirmed he wants to play his entire career in Phoenix. However, after back-to-back disappointing seasons, the rumors began to build up and could manifest into the mind of the four-time All-Star to preserve his legacy. The 28-year-old shooting guard still has a decade-long playing career ahead of him and plenty of time to turn the franchise around.

The modern NBA superstar doesn’t abide by that mindset, with many switching teams at the first sign of a setback. Booker hasn’t followed those norms, enduring lottery purgatory for the first five years of his career, before finally breaking free and making the playoffs in 2021.

Media members like Perkins will try to force a narrative that Booker needs to leave Phoenix to elevate his superstar status. The 10-year Suns guard hasn’t let other pave his path to the NBA and likely won’t change that philosophy a decade into his professional career.