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The Phoenix Suns were officially eliminated from playoff contention with Wednesday evening's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, bringing a fitting conclusion to one of the worst failed experiments in recent NBA history. The Suns now face an offseason filled with more questions than answers, particularly regarding Kevin Durant, whom the team traded for during the 2022-23 season.
Recently, John Hollinger of The Athletic broke down that moving Devin Booker might also be on the table for Phoenix this summer.
“In all likelihood, there is only one truly viable exit point: The Suns have to trade Booker and Durant to the Rockets to get their picks back. Houston controls the Suns’ pick this year, as well as those in 2027 and 2029,” reported Hollinger.
Hollinger also noted that in a potential deal with the Rockets, the “Suns would get their lottery pick this June back from the Rockets, get Jalen Green back as a salary match… they could then grab another high pick in 2027 and hope to come out on the other end of a multi-year tank job in a few years the way teams like Oklahoma City, Cleveland and Houston did.”
A big offseason for the Suns
Four years ago, the Suns appeared to have the brightest future trajectory of any team in the NBA, having made the NBA Finals with Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, and a host of other young players leading the way.
Fast forward to the present day and Phoenix is now arguably in the worst position of any franchise in the NBA–the Suns are the only team that will miss out on both the postseason and the NBA draft lottery this year.
If the Rockets flame out in this year's playoffs, it could be possible that they'd want to take a swing on players like Durant or Booker to help accelerate their timeline, which in theory could help the Suns get out of their current contract logjam.
For now, though, all the Suns can do is count down the days until this nightmarish season is finally over.
