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NBA News: Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker's 39-Point Double-Double Not Enough Against the Bucks 2 Mar 19, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) is introduced against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at PHX Aena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Phoenix Suns: Former NBA Player Suggests Devin Booker to Leave

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Reign Amurao | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 4:44 AM ET

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker is about to enter his 11th season in the NBA in the 2025-26 season. However, Booker hasn’t achieved much success with the organization that drafted him. In the first five seasons, the Suns were trying to figure out how to build around the former Kentucky guard. He didn’t play in the playoffs until his sixth year in the league.

For four straight years, Booker and the Suns were in the postseason. However, the recent roster changes have deeply affected the team’s ability to compete. Despite having stars like Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, Phoenix hasn’t been able to recapture the magic it had in 2021. That was the year that the 6-foot-6 guard first played in the postseason with the help of Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton and head coach Monty Williams.

This upcoming offseason, people expect big changes to the Suns. With that change, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins believes Booker should take the chance to leave the organization and request a trade.

“Not only trading KD, but trading Devin Booker,” Perkins began. “This is gonna tell me a lot about Devin Booker, here’s why.

“He has been activated, you know why? Because he’s 28 going on 29. So that means… he’s just starting his prime. His prime has been activated.

[Devin Booker]'s just starting his prime."@KendrickPerkins believes Booker’s future might not be in Phoenix pic.twitter.com/jxXCFL4MxM

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 4, 2025

Perkins said that the Suns won’t achieve anything, and that should be enough to make Booker leave.

“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, and not leveling up to go to an organization where you can actually can compete for a championship and you’re ready to just stay there for another rebuild, I got a problem with that.”

The Phoenix Suns hire a Cleveland Cavaliers assistant as their new head coach

'Time': Phoenix Suns General Manager Explains His Process of Hiring a New Head Coach 2 Suns owner Mat Ishbia speaks with the press during a news conference at Footprint Center in Phoenix on May 1, 2024.

After the 2024-25 season, the Phoenix Suns decided to fire Mike Budenholzer as their head coach after failing to secure a playoff spot. On Wednesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the Suns have officially ended their head coaching search after deciding to hire former assistant to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jordan Ott.

Charania reported that Booker took part in the head coaching search. Ott started his career in the NBA as a video coordinator for the Atlanta Hawks from 2013 to 2015. He was hired as an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2021. From 2022 to 2023, Ott was an assistant under Darvin Ham with the Los Angeles Lakers.

In 2024, he was brought in to the Cleveland Cavaliers as an assistant under Kenny Atkinson.

“Suns franchise cornerstone Devin Booker was involved in the search process during the final stages and stamped Ott as his top choice as well, sources said. Ott has been on NBA coaching staffs with the Hawks, Nets, Lakers and Cavaliers since 2012,” Charania reported.

Ott will be Booker’s eighth head coach of his career.

Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker Believes the Team Skipped on Building an Identity 2 Feb 27, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) reacts after being fouled by the New Orleans Pelicans in the fourth quarter at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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