Devin Booker was never a trade candidate for the Suns — nor should he be

The Phoenix Suns are expected to begin a retooling process during the summer. Their big three experiment has failed to yield the desired results. As such, Kevin Durant is expected to part ways with the Western Conference franchise. After all, the aging superstar is likely to garner significant attention and a sizeable trade return. 

Shockingly, Devin Booker has also been cited as a potential casualty of the Suns' recent failures. Booker, 28, is just entering his prime and has been with the Suns for his entire NBA career. 

During a March 14 interview with ESPN's Tim MacMahon, Suns owner Mat Ishbia moved to silence any chatter of Booker being traded.

"Never happen," Ishbia said. "It's silly. So here's what I'll tell you: I have Devin Booker in the prime. In order to win an NBA championship, you got to have a superstar. You got to have a great player." 

Early in his career, the Suns force-fed Booker a ton of playmaking reps. While it was ugly to begin with, the All-Star guard has become a reliable ball-handler, shot creator and playmaker for the Suns. He is a genuine three-level scorer who can get his own buckets or create opportunities for others. You don't trade that type of talent away, especially as they enter their prime years.

Durant and Bradley Beal were acquired to be star running mates for Beal. It makes sense that both veterans would move before the Suns' homegrown star. Ishbia will undoubtedly want to retool the roster around Booker, likely putting him front and center — a he is happy to take on:

"I take pride in the community in Phoenix, the people that have supported me since I was 18 when things were ugly. And the people that are with us, we just fell short of accomplishing what we want. So I want to do it, and I want to do it here.

"That's the responsibility of being a franchise player, and I wear that with honor. So it might not look the most pretty right now, but we got to get it done and I'm going to do it."

In truth, Booker was likely never in danger of being traded. The Suns would need to pivot toward a full-blown rebuild for them to consider parting ways with a player who has made 658 regular-season appearances to date.  The fact that Ishbia had to speak on the rumors proves how far they have traveled. 

The Suns have a lot of work to do in the coming months and years. Finding a trade partner for Booker is unlikely to be something on their to-do list.