Will the Detroit Pistons make a run for Phoenix Suns star shooting guard Devin Booker in the offseason?
The 2023-24 NBA season of the Suns was supposed to end so much better than it did Sunday night. In just four games in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, Devin Booker and company had their title dreams go up in flames at the hands of Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves via a first-round sweep. It was embarrassing, to say the least, especially when considering the fact that the Suns paraded a star-laden roster that had Booker, Bradley Beal, and, of course, Kevin Durant leading the attack.
Devin Booker gets intriguing odds for potential trade to Pistons
From big title hopes in the preseason, the discussion about the Suns has now turned into the franchise's worrisome future. There are even betting sites, including BetOnline.ag that accept action on the potential of Booker getting traded to another franchise. Over at the said sportsbook, the New York Knicks are the favorites to land the high-scoring guard via a trade as they have the shortest price to do so at +300.
Meanwhile, the Miami Heat and the Pistons both have odds of +700 to acquire Booker. That price is already shorter than the Golden State Warriors' odds of +800 to win a potential Devin Booker sweepstakes. For what it's worth, the Los Angeles Lakers have odds of +1400 to land Booker in a trade.
The Pistons just finished another letdown season, as they won just 14 games against 68 losses in the 2023-24 campaign — Monty Williams' first at the helm as the team's head coach. Speaking of Williams, he could be a key factor in a possible pursuit by Detroit of Booker.
Williams is familiar with Booker and vice versa. After all, Williams coached the Suns for four seasons and even steered Booker and Phoenix to the 2021 NBA Finals, falling just two wins short of bringing a title to The Valley. But Booker doesn't need Williams to have a connection with Detroit. Booker is from Grand Rapids Michigan, so getting traded to the Pistons would be some sort of a homecoming for the former Kentucky Wildcats bucket-getter.
In the event that the Suns decide to start all over again and have a firesale of superstars in the offseason, letting go of an expensive asset like Booker would be an emotional one and could trigger fan resentment. At the same time, that would give the Suns great relief on the financial side of things. Phoenix is expected to have $206 million worth of salary payables in the next season, which exceeds the second tax apron by over $16 million.
The Pistons should have more than enough cap space to accommodate Booker's salary, plus they also have plenty of players on team options for the 2024-25 season which they can use as trade chips, too. It can be recalled that Booker signed a massive four-year $221.09 million extension deal with the Suns back in 2022, which means that he will not become a free agent until the end of the 2027-28 NBA campaign when he's in his early thirties.
Booker, who was selected by the Suns 13th overall in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft, finished the 2023-24 season with averages of 27.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists across 68 games while shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from behind the arc.
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