Booker signs Super Max Extension - 2022 Offseason

[Hoop Head]

I think this deserves it's own thread as well. Of course this isn't "KD requests trade to Phoenix" level but it is still big news.

Devin Booker and the Suns are finalizing a 4 year $212 million dollar extension. He's expected to sign it next week when the moratorium is over and they work out all the finer details.

Booker's new deal would kick in for the 2024-25 season and he'd be under contract through the 2027-28 season.

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And on top of that, he's expected to be the cover star for NBA 2k23 later this year. That means if he and Ayton didn't have issues before, they do now.

 

[Hoop Head]

This might not be as crippling as other super max deals if it this amount and doesn't adjust for the inflated cap that will come with the new TV contract. I guess we'll wait and see in that regard.

I was all for a regular max extension and don't mind this all that much. It's a bit much but Booker is a home grown star and deserves to be rewarded for his loyalty, especially if we land KD because that will be the 2nd Hall of Famer who came to Phoenix to play with Book. Sure, it'd be nice if he attracted younger stars but KD is a top 5 talent in the world easily at his age and Paul has given us 2 monsterous seasons already.

 

[Phrazbit]

He has improved every year and as his stardom evolved he dragged the franchise out of the cellar, not just with his own play but the pull he has with other big names around the league.

These salaries are insane but Booker is a true "franchise" player for the Suns.

 

[1tinsoldier]

this super-max deal will likely be a ball and chain.
it's nice that we've been loyal to Booker (and his agent) but he's one of the very few we haven't been cheap with over the years -- and this deal will sustain that trend. The best management model has been San Antonio and Golden State who won multiple titles because their front office and their players worked out reasonable deals to ensure that they could keep their best talent and quality role players

to say "Booker is just getting paid what the market will bear" is only valid if you consider the total team salary in the calculation -- if a player's dream is winning a championship they would be well advised to keep their eyes on the prize instead of just their bank account

we lost a young center with potential, our best backup center ever, and will be losing our starting center who was our only #1 pick in history -- all over cutting corners on salary -- breaking up a team with the best record in Suns history after only one season

for example, how about just giving Booker a bonus on top of his max salary if he makes All NBA first team next year (or some other target) so that we could pay Ayton the max too, and/or pay McGee?

clearly, as this forum indicates, the fans are good with making Booker the 2nd highest paid player in the world. But it's short sighted. If Durant doesn't work out, the odds just went up of us becoming THE sports franchise with the longest history of NOT winning a championship. Book it!

 

[Phrazbit]

this super-max deal will likely be a ball and chain.
it's nice that we've been loyal to Booker (and his agent) but he's one of the very few we haven't been cheap with over the years -- and this deal will sustain that trend. The best management model has been San Antonio and Golden State who won multiple titles because their front office and their players worked out reasonable deals to ensure that they could keep their best talent and quality role players

to say "Booker is just getting paid what the market will bear" is only valid if you consider the total team salary in the calculation -- if a player's dream is winning a championship they would be well advised to keep their eyes on the prize instead of just their bank account

we lost a young center with potential, our best backup center ever, and will be losing our starting center who was our only #1 pick in history -- all over cutting corners on salary -- breaking up a team with the best record in Suns history after only one season

for example, how about just giving Booker a bonus on top of his max salary if he makes All NBA first team next year (or some other target) so that we could pay Ayton the max too, and/or pay McGee?

clearly, as this forum indicates, the fans are good with making Booker the 2nd highest paid player in the world. But it's short sighted. If Durant doesn't work out, the odds just went up of us becoming THE sports franchise with the longest history of NOT winning a championship. Book it!

Golden State got reeeeeally lucky when building that dynasty. The only guy who sacrificed money that team was Green. Curry was on a steal of a deal in his 2nd contract l because he had serious injury problems on his rookie deal.

They snagged Durant because of a sudden and gigantic increase in the cap because of a new TV deal. The only reason they've kept that team together is because their ownership has been willing to spend an insane amount of money against the tax to keep it.

The Warriors paid 346 million for that roster last season. That is an ownership group who is willing to sacrifice the bottom line to win.

Nothing about Booker's deal changes the team's actual ability to add to the roster, we are over the cap, it just changes to the price ownership has to foot.

If Sarver/ownership had given any indication that they're willing to shell out the big bucks to contend it would be one thing, but this is the same franchise that just gave up on a top 10 pick in one season because they didn't want to pay 5 mil. A move that actually limited the team's ability to improve and it's only benefit was to save ownership some money.

These salaries are nuts but I don't blame Booker at all.

Furthermore, Booker's contract won't even begin for 2 years, I guarantee he will NEVER actually be in the top 2 paid players, by the time his new deal actually starts he probably won't even be in the top 10 paid players in the league.

 

[Sparky16]

Golden State got reeeeeally lucky when building that dynasty. The only guy who sacrificed money that team was Green. Curry was on a steal of a deal in his 2nd contract l because he had serious injury problems on his rookie deal.

They snagged Durant because of a sudden and gigantic increase in the cap because of a new TV deal. The only reason they've kept that team together is because their ownership has been willing to spend an insane amount of money against the tax to keep it.

The Warriors paid 346 million for that roster last season. That is an ownership group who is willing to sacrifice the bottom line to win.

Nothing about Booker's deal changes the team's actual ability to add to the roster, we are over the cap, it just changes to the price ownership has to foot.

If Sarver/ownership had given any indication that they're willing to shell out the big bucks to contend it would be one thing, but this is the same franchise that just gave up on a top 10 pick in one season because they didn't want to pay 5 mil. A move that actually limited the team's ability to improve and it's only benefit was to save ownership some money.

These salaries are nuts but I don't blame Booker at all.

Furthermore, Booker's contract won't even begin for 2 years, I guarantee he will NEVER actually be in the top 2 paid players, by the time his new deal actually starts he probably won't even be in the top 10 paid players in the league.

Yeah, extending Stix..... Probably could have been used for trade in place of Bridges or Cam

 

[Dr. Jones]

If this type of cash can be earned. He did it.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Next year Devin Booker will likely be #3 in all time scoring for the franchise. He will pass Alvin Adams the next year and in three years be #1 all time past Walter Davis.

All before he is 29.

Barring something crazy, Booker will be an era defining player for the Suns and in the discussion as the greatest Sun of all time before he is even 30.

 

[Finito]

He has improved every year and as his stardom evolved he dragged the franchise out of the cellar, not just with his own play but the pull he has with other big names around the league.

These salaries are insane but Booker is a true "franchise" player for the Suns.

Yeah. He’s our guy and he has flaws but they all have flaws. If we land KD is be 100% because of Booker that alone makes him well worth the money

 

[Mainstreet]

With all the other huge extensions being signed by Jokic, Morant, Beal and Karl-Anthony Towns this contract looks totally in line and reasonable.

 

[dscher]

Booker getting destroyed in social media land. Lol. Although I think he's definitely not worth that dough, I agree it would make it easier to stomach with his potential recruiting skills.

 

[mjb21aztd]

Book one my top 3 suns next to Charles and chambers

Glad will be a sun for 4 yrs hope 4 yr plan goes right and suns get there much deserved prize ugh lol

420 edibles to book balling through contract gooooo suns

 

[1tinsoldier]

Booker getting destroyed in social media land. Lol. Although I think he's definitely not worth that dough, I agree it would make it easier to stomach with his potential recruiting skills.

even if praise from a couple of big-name fans equated to "recruiting skills" that will be negated by a team being cash-strapped soon with him sucking up $56 million per year in cap space

the compliments were somewhat driven last year by Booker being underrated -- and him being the star on the best team in the league. That sentiment turned him into being OVER-rated (being high on the MVP and All NBA list was a much a reward to the Suns team as the Suns player)

the "superstar" debate ended last season with many conceding that, unlike other superstars, Booker can be controlled with double teams and his ball-handling and decision-making can be compromised
-- that he needs to be PART of a trio of stars alongside quality role-players (who are all earning a fair share of what the "market will bear" for a team)
-- that he's a great player with more upside, but will never have the consistent impact of a Kobe, Curry, Lebron, Jokic, Giannis, Doncic, etc..

his most consistent impact will likely be on the Suns payroll
and Book this as well...
if Devin has another playoff marred by hamstring, leadership, or other performance issues this supermax deal is a stephen-a-smith rant waiting to happen

 

[dscher]

even if praise from a couple of big-name fans equated to "recruiting skills" that will be negated by a team being cash-strapped soon with him sucking up $56 million per year in cap space

the compliments were somewhat driven last year by Booker being underrated -- and him being the star on the best team in the league. That sentiment turned him into being OVER-rated (being high on the MVP and All NBA list was a much a reward to the Suns team as the Suns player)

the "superstar" debate ended last season with many conceding that, unlike other superstars, Booker can be controlled with double teams and his ball-handling and decision-making can be compromised
-- that he needs to be PART of a trio of stars alongside quality role-players (who are all earning a fair share of what the "market will bear" for a team)
-- that he's a great player with more upside, but will never have the consistent impact of a Kobe, Curry, Lebron, Jokic, Giannis, Doncic, etc..

his most consistent impact will likely be on the Suns payroll
and Book this as well...
if Devin has another playoff marred by hamstring, leadership, or other performance issues this supermax deal is a stephen-a-smith rant waiting to happen

Good write up. Devin is what he is at this point IMO.. I'm good with that. Then again, I've never been that impressed in the first place, which makes this much bank for him kinda nuts IMO. But I digress.

Now just comes some trust and faith in JJ and Monty. We'll see.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Good write up. Devin is what he is at this point IMO.. I'm good with that. Then again, I've never been that impressed in the first place, which makes this much bank for him kinda nuts IMO. But I digress.

Now just comes some trust and faith in JJ and Monty. We'll see.

He is absolutely not "What he is at this point"

He is 3 years from his peak athletic years. There is a reason he gets better every year, that is his career. We basically bought out his prime athlete years.

Booker will get better for another 2-3 years and then plateau.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Good write up. Devin is what he is at this point IMO.. I'm good with that. Then again, I've never been that impressed in the first place, which makes this much bank for him kinda nuts IMO. But I digress.

Now just comes some trust and faith in JJ and Monty. We'll see.

Booker will improve into his late 20s (still only 25). That's not to say the improvements will necessarily be monumental, but he will be a better player 3-5 years from now than he is today.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Booker will improve into his late 20s (still only 25). That's not to say the improvements will necessarily be monumental, but he will be a better player 3-5 years from now than he is today.

Correct. It's the same thing with Ayton btw. He is getting sold far lower than he should be.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Correct. It's the same thing with Ayton btw. He is getting sold far lower than he should be.

Giving up Ayton makes me feel uneasy tbh. Of course you do it if doing so gives you a really good shot a title, but he might be an exceptional player when he reaches his peak.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

I really wonder how much damage Ayton did to himself with that interview where he admits to playing video games all night and sleepwalking through real games

Teams should be falling over themselves to get a big man that's years from his peak

 

[Mainstreet]

I really wonder how much damage Ayton did to himself with that interview where he admits to playing video games all night and sleepwalking through real games

Teams should be falling over themselves to get a big man that's years from his peak

Maybe some teams are still putting the pieces together to coordinate with the Durant and possibly Simmons trades.

The Pacers just came back in the picture with the trade of Brogdon.

Lots of moving parts.

 

[dscher]

Booker will improve into his late 20s (still only 25). That's not to say the improvements will necessarily be monumental, but he will be a better player 3-5 years from now than he is today.

Of course I would rather roll that dice with Booker than with Ayton. Without a doubt. But, Booker does nothing to inspire confidence for a potential superstar status from me. He's paid like that now. Those will be the expectations, and he will never reach them... JMO. But yeah.. I'll take steady improvement over those years. The money makes it cloudy for me, personally. I think his game has peaked overall. We'll see.

 

[GatorAZ]

Book is worth it and we gotta show KD we mean business.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Book is worth it and we gotta show KD we mean business.

Yop.

 

[Hoop Head]

Bradley Beal and KAT both signed supermax deals this off-season also. I'd much rather have Book on a super max than either of them. I think the Beal comparison is most accurate since they play the same position and fill the same role. The only thing Beal is better at is 3pt shooting but I suspect Booker will improve his outside shot more by the time he's in his prime, which is still 2-3 years away.

Book also seems to care more about winning, which is important because he'll push the front office to build him a competitive team while Beal seems content with the garbage they have in Washington that keeps them as a play-in contender, at best.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Booker is a much better shooter than Beal. He's better in every major catagory and 4% better in TS.

This last year Booker became a + defender. Beal is a very poor defender.

I would WAY rather have Booker.