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Days are coming closer and closer to the start of the 2025-26 NBA season, and the Phoenix Suns have made a barrage of moves. Most recently, the Suns gave Devin Booker a $145 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid player in the league.
Not to mention, Phoenix aced the NBA draft and landed Khaman Maluach from Duke, Rasheer Fleming from St. Joe's, and knockdown shooter Koby Brea from Kentucky.
To put the icing on the cake, the Suns hired former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott to be the team's next head coach. The team is going in a youth movement, spearheaded by Booker.
Also, no one could forget that Kevin Durant was sent to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick (which turned into Maluach), and a plethora of second-round draft capital.
Still, there is one move that tops all of those listed.
Devin Booker's extension was the Suns' perfect move
Extending Booker doesn't just keep the franchise's all-time leading scorer in the Valley. It also sets a necessary precedent for where the team wants to go.
The former Kentucky star is only 28, and as many believe, is starting to enter his prime. There is so much good with the extension. It proves that the organization wants to win and that they want to keep Booker for the long haul.
The latter went through his first six seasons without seeing the playoffs. Once he did, though, it was as if he made it every single season.
His game stepped up and became even more efficient. He reached another level and sent the Suns to their first NBA Finals since 1993 with Charles Barkley.
Although Phoenix lost in six games to the Milwaukee Bucks, it was a promising sign of things to come. Since then, the team traded for Durant and Beal and made the playoffs once.
With that Big 3, they were swept in the 2024 first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves. That was the beginning of the end for the failed experiment that was.
Now, it's back to the drawing board. After Booker raved about the Suns' two rookies, Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, the team embraced the youth movement.
However, the 2025 class is continually working hard and growing, something that Booker cherishes and respects.
There are still concerns with the Suns extending Devin Booker
With the flurry of young talent, there might be some growing pains.
For instance, Maluach is only 18 and only started playing basketball when he was a teenager. Guys like Ighodaro and Dunn have shown massive improvements, but are only second-year players.
Furthermore, pairing Green and Booker together could be shades of how Bradley Beal and Booker played with one another. It was an awkward fit, to say the least, and it could be more of the same with the former Rockets guard.
Could this be the Suns wasting Booker's prime? It could turn into that if the necessary adjustments aren't implemented.
However, with Ott leading the way as head coach, he has a unique philosophy: connectivity and accountability, which weren't too prevalent with the previous position holder.
Regardless of the potential, the risk-reward can sometimes rear its ugly head. Some coaching decisions might cause the players to question or grow skeptical.
Despite that, Booker had a part in the Suns' hiring Ott, so there's a clear level of trust.
Establishing the No. 1 guy was a necessity. A lot can happen in two months, so anything can still be up in the air. No matter what, Booker is the guy and has the cast around him.
Now, it's a matter of how the 2025-26 season will play out, and if Booker's extension was the right move.
