Suns @ Bucks Tuesday game thread 4-1-2025

[Covert Rain]

It's much easier to field a competitive team with one star than zero stars.

At least with two stars, it's possible to build a contender. We saw that when the Suns added Chris Paul to a core of young players including Devin Booker.

After drafting Devin Booker in 2015, the last previous star they drafted and kept was Amare Stoudemire in 2002.

The NBA Draft offers no guarantees, especially when a team doesn't own their own picks.

57 plus years. The fans deserve more than a competitive team.

 

[Mainstreet]

57 plus years. The fans deserve more than a competitive team.

The Suns have fielded three teams that have made it to the Finals, that's more than being just competitive.

 

[BirdGangThing]

The Suns have fielded three teams that have made it to the Finals, that's more than being just competitive.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Hoop Head]

You must be registered for see images attach

Do you have a point? Everyone here knows that and it doesn't refute what Mainstreet said. Go around and do that for all 30 teams in the league and see where the Suns rank.

 

[Covert Rain]

The Suns have fielded three teams that have made it to the Finals, that's more than being just competitive.

3 times in 57 years is not nothing but it's 3 times in about a half of a century which is hardly competitive. Usually when someone says "competitive" it's just another word for fun.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Booker had 39 points on 14-32 shooting, 3 rebounds, 11 assists and 5 turnovers. And best of all, he played.

This season, Beal has only played in 48 games, Durant 62 and Booker 70.

The amount of games Beal has missed without a major injury is incredible. I always thought his missed games were due to a bigger injury each season. I didn’t realize how many hangnails, boo boos, paper cuts he could rack up over 82 games.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Well, duh - that's because our superstar isn't even an all star level player. But even when Booker was at his best he was nowhere near the player GA is. And now, even on one of his better nights (such as last night), he's no more than a poor man's version of the Devin Booker we used to see.

There was a brief time when it looked like Devin might be a solid top 10 player, now, most nights he's not even a top 100 player and that's not hyperbole. For the current version of Devin, he had a pretty good game against the Bucks but some nights he gets outplayed by journeymen and G Leaguers.

Cmon, I’m as skeptical of Booker as most but “most nights” and “not even a top 100” is absolutely hyperbole when placed together.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I know it was a dumb move and you agree but this is the cost many of us pointed out. We heard Ishbia's checkbook won't allow us to be bad for 2 years until some finally agreed trading KD was a mistake and the checkbook can't solve these problems. This is the mess we're in. There's no way out. We can either sit back and watch Booker pass the torch to the next gen or see us hand top 3 picks away. I'd rather avoid seeing the Nets, Wizards, or whoever else has a stake in our collapse draft someone like Flagg with our #1 pick.

Actually the full checkbook phase of this hasn’t been explored yet. If ish lets some or all three contracts expire or trades those guys then his checkbook becomes relevant again immediately.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I agree with your not-so-subtle KD reference but he's not exactly wrong. Paying Devin 70 million per to be an average point guard is going to raise the misery stakes and ensure we don't accidentally find our way out of the darkness for many years to come.

Right it’s called compounding an existing issue.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

There needs to be a compromise solution. I'm tired of this 100 out 100 stuff.

The Suns owe the fans the best front office personnel, GM and scouts they can find. Spend on them like they did for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.

I want to like the product they put on the court, both now and in the future.

100%. If you don’t have high picks you’ve got to find other ways of identifying talent. Find the second rounders that you can buy and the free agents that make an impact. Hire away Miami’s entire staff.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I did say this, that we're going to sink even lower. But I can't find a single reason to be optimistic enough to think that we won't sink lower than NJ did following their disastrous trade. They were in as bad of shape as we are but New Jersey/Brooklyn didn't have their hands tied by a CBA designed to penalize and handcuff franchises that try and buy a championship. I'd love to believe we're not totally screwed but nothing I've seen from our Front Office makes me believe they can find a way out of this mess. I hope I'm wrong.

I don’t love this answer, but here’s why I don’t think we sink as low as Brooklyn:

If we stay the course and double down on kd and Booker we will remain where we are, likely mediocre. Likely play-in contestants as our rookies improve and we make nibbles around the edges. That’s technically “better” than Brooklyn.

If we jettison book and kd we will get assets, but we’ll also get cap space back. That allows ish to flex his wallet with free agents. Yeah, we likely aren’t signing any in their prime star, but he can pull second level free agents. So again, maybe a one year Brooklyn sink, but probably that’s it.

Again, both of these likely lead to mediocrity or slightly below mediocrity, but neither is likely bottoming out. I just don’t see ishbia allowing that. We, the fans, will hate it, but it likely won’t be Brooklyn bad.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

IMO, Devin Booker isn't the problem. He might even take less than a super max deal when the time comes around.

Listening to Gambo, I understand Devin Booker is not going to play through another rebuild and the Suns are indeed keeping him. I suppose this could change, if the Suns have to completely rebuild, but this seems to be what it looks like at the moment. Needless to say, the Suns need to trade Durant and get meaningful talent and draft picks in return. Other players such as O'Neale and Allen could be traded as well to get below the second tax apron.

Getting rid of Beal's contract is a wild card. In the right trade, if the Suns could acquire multiple first round picks such as in a Durant trade, I could see the Suns having to attach assets to trade Beal.

Having three huge contracts on the payroll is simply too much and the Suns are finally realizing this.

I see no universe in which book takes less than the maximum he can get on the market. As much as I love him - he is a homegrown star that did help get us to a Finals - he’s just not seemingly that type of player. Not that many of those exist any longer.

 

[Mainstreet]

I see no universe in which book takes less than the maximum he can get on the market. As much as I love him - he is a homegrown star that did help get us to a Finals - he’s just not seemingly that type of player. Not that many of those exist any longer.

I'd hope giving Booker less than the maximum wouldn't be open for discussion, but if it were, I think he would consider it.

He hasn't stayed with the Suns all these years because they were the most winning franchise around.