I'm not saying PHX will take it but I would just offer a Jalen swap and all their picks. Then add any contracts that are needed to make it work. Brooks being the first to add. If PHX realizes they are heading downward then I can imagine them taking this. And I don't need future picks if we can add a piece that opens our window NOW. That said, the window only stays open if 2 or 3 of our young'uns grow into potential All-Stars.
If the Suns have a really bad year Durant may become available, but Booker will not. He's 27 years old. He's in his prime. It's a pipe dream.
The Suns might say yes if Green makes a leap and is consistently his March self but then I'd hope the Rockets wouldn't want to trade Green at that point and why would the Rockets at that point anyways when Green is 22.
Jalen Green, 4 FRPs (3 Phoenix picks + 2031 Rockets), Jeff Green, Dillon Brooks for Booker and whatever 2026 FRP they get back in a swap to meet the Stepien Rule. This would leave the Rockets down to 6 FRPs in 7 years after the 2025 draft with one of the them being the sweet Brooklyn 2027 pick.
I agree that it's Phoenix's last case resort but most definitely NOT a pipe dream. Now that we are in the new CBA, I think things change quite a bit for them because of the way they spent to put that team together. They are WELL over the 2nd tax apron and will see restrictions placed upon them this year including: ....for first apron penalties: - no sign and trade acquisitions - no bi-annual exception - can only offer a 2yr $5mil MLE...except they can't even offer that because of the 2nd apron penalty below - no ability to sign a waived player - can't take back more than 100% of salary in a trade - no TPE available to them ....for 2nd apron penalties: - no trading of future picks more than 7 yrs out - those are now frozen and may automatically be moved to the end of the draft if you are in the 2nd apron 3 out of 5 years - no MLE for them - you can't aggregate outgoing salaries in a trade so any trade with Phoenix would have to have only one player coming back from Phoenix(like Booker) - no trade exceptions can be used - no cash can be used in trades ....AND Phoenix doesn't have control of their own draft picks until 2031 because they traded them all away or traded pick swap rights AND as I mentioned above, they may lose control of that 2031 pick as well(moved to the last pick in the draft) if they remain in the luxury tax for 2 more years. All of the above makes it nearly impossible for a team currently under contract to be in the luxury tax for two more years to do anything to improve a roster that is super thin as it is and relies on a very old Durant and an often injured Beal and the longer they tread water with this roster, the more it may further delay a future rebuild. It's not like a 36/37 yr old max contract Durant is a trade asset - nor is a 30+yr old max contract Beal who just spent his "best years" only able to play half the available games since he turned 26....and I didn't even talk about how they are spending nearly $200mil in luxury tax payments this year in addition to $223mil payroll...assuming Ishbia doesn't want to lose millions of dollars on the franchise AND be rewarded with ridicule for it by a fan base. Summary - NOT a pipe dream when Booker is the only asset on that roster that can expedite a rebuild in a real way if you come to the logical conclusion that this team peaked 3 years ago before trading Ayton. There is a path where they can rebuild around Booker with at least one max player and maybe a larger non max contract in 2026 but they will be even thinner in construction than they are now and the list of game changers that year is slim - you got 32 yr old Joel Embid, Trae Young, Doncic, SGA, De'Aaron Fox, Jaren Jackson, Jr, Colin Sexton....I think that's the full list of players who will still be playing and have had legit MVP aspirations OR who are young enough that they could potentially take a leap between now and then and I can't imagine guys like SGA are going anywhere.
Don’t want booker. He doesn’t move the needle much… and Dallas would own us. Def don’t need luka bustin his specials all over toyota center lol
No one thinks Booker is being traded within the next year. We're not on a one year timeline though. The leverage starts with their 2027 unprotected pick due to us. KD turns 36 this month, Beal is 31, Phoenix is already paying hundreds of millions in luxury tax, and they have no picks. If they aren't an elite team in the next two seasons they need to make a hard choice starting in the summer of 2026 when KD's contract expires. Do they keep trying to win and re-sign KD, who will turn 38 at that point, or do they rebuild? If they rebuild Booker is likely on the market at 29 years old and one year left under contract. What better asset to get than their own pick back so they can tank?
Suns traded too much for Durant, and then got Beal locking their roster without a way to build around those Booker, Durant, and Beal. The Suns likely peaked when they acquired Durant. Not directed at you...the big difference between ther Rockets going after Booker and the Suns going after Durant is that the Rockets should still have 5-6 really good young players and only be down 1 FRP from the standard allotment of 7. FVV and Sengun are probably comparable to Durant and Beal in combined value, while the rest of the rosters heavily favors the Rockets. Unless Green takes plays great most of the time, Booker slides in easily to take Green's usage without affecting how FVV and Sengun get value.
Would you say that about 19-22 year old Booker? The dude who spent 5 years in the NBA before being productive on a 30+ win team?
ya of course, 21 year old booker was a very solid offensive player and put up above league average efficiency as a young guard on a trash team, which is fantastic
You really value 24 ppg on 56% ts on a 20 win team over 20 ppg on 54% ts with significantly better defense on a 41 win team? The season before in his 20 year old season Jalen had 22 ppg on 54% ts on a 22 win team with young Devin Booker level impact on defense. You don't think third year Jalen on a team with zero expectations like his first two years and like Booker's first... Check notes.. 5 years couldn't up his 22 ppg on 54% ts from the season prior especially given no expectations to try on the other end of the court? Really? The reality is if Booker experienced a regime change in his third year with new expectations to win, new veteran players that require high usage and try on defense, his scoring output would decrease but his team would probably win a lot more.
There is HUGE irony there because Durant was the guy who pissed off much of the league when he went to Golden State because of the lack of cap smoothing for the new TV deal money which opened the door for GS to assemble the 'ultimate big three'. Then the league created a Kevin Durant rule later that year to discourage star players form leaving their drafting team. Then Phoenix acquired Durant right when the league was negotiating the next CBA and guess what the league owners were trying to prevent in the next CBA? The very super teams that Durant was looking to build in Phoenix! They implemented cap smoothing with new TV rights deals and created penalties for teams constructed around expensive "big threes" that outspent competitors and benefited disproportionately from veteran waived players helping already stacked teams and the use of exceptions to add to talent....but hey- Phoenix wasn't a victim here. The rules changed and they STILL signed Nurkic, Beal, Grayson Allen, and Royce O'Neale so they kind of get what they deserve if this doesn't work out. I agree with you though that Houston is building "the right way" because future draft assets are going to be particularly useful assets for teams trying to build perennial contenders in the future. If you can nail a few drafts early in your rebuild that at least are tradeable assets(enter Green) and collect as many future assets as possible, it will help you to do some of those things that OKC is doing right now where they can be a strong team and STILL go out and get depth by adding solid players like Hartenstein. We are just a few yeas behind OKC in the growth curve....and are lacking a true #1 guy but that's where Booker may come in.
I'm assuming if the Suns feel the need to let go of Booker, Jabari Smith would not be a hail they would care for because they are trying to find a young potential first option and Jabari is no where near that. His route is a high end role player as of now. If Jabari doesn't make a self creation leap this season his trade value will be much lower than Green.
Yes i value efficiency a lot. I don't care about the team wins, we won because of FVV and sengun, that's it. If they were gone we'd have won the same 20 games as previous seasons. A 21 year old guard who can put up above league average efficiency is gonna be a star, almost no doubt.
Team wins is brought up here because of this concepts called "expectations". If Devin Booker in his third season experienced a coaching regime change and high level high usage vets entering the mix where the new coaching regime expects elite defensive effort, would Booker have the rhythm and energy required for his offense to flourish in his third season? Young guards that are talented and are use for playing on 20 win teams have certain expectations removed from them like exerting effort on defense at a competent enough level on a winning team. If Jalen Green the season before didn't average 22 ppg on 54% ts ok a similar level teams as Booker was in in his first five years in the league, I wouldn't make this a point to consider. But since Jalen Green did average 22 ppg on 54% TS the season prior, it's reasonable to assume I don't production fell off do to a regime change and new expectations. I have no problem believing if Silas stayed and the roster didn't change much where Green was allowed to "cook" with one of that pressure of being benched because of poor defensive effort or the pressure of playing in new ways like off ball on offense, he'd probably build off his 2nd year scoring numbers but stagnate at every other aspect of basketball and the team would be in the twenties. The law of thermodynamics apply to athletes. What happens to 21 year old Booker's offensive game if suddenly in his third year he is burdened with expectations on defensive effort from a Ime coached team? Would he build off his second year scoring numbers? Probably not. What happened to Green in his third year is better for his long term career and team building. But it isn't good for online forum discussions about Jalen Green because people like you don't apply context and see a scoring production fall off and that is the extent of your analysis.
