While appearing as a guest on TNT's “Inside the NBA,” Draymond Green suggested that Devin Booker should leave the Phoenix Suns, reasoning that the 23-year-old All-Star needs to be in a winning situation.
In response to the Golden State Warriors forward's claim, Booker noted the importance to staying loyal to the fans who have been with them through all these down years:
“I feel like that's important for this organization, for the fans that have stuck by us for this long and still do so,” Booker said when asked about Green's comments, via Nick Friedell of ESPN. “Since I've been in Phoenix, we haven't had the win success that we had, but the support's been there. And this is what we owe to the fans, we owe to the organization. It's been a long time for us and I think this bubble opportunity was big for us, and we're taking advantage of it.”
Booker has long received criticism for failing to transform the Suns into a winning squad ever since they drafted him in 2015. However, others, like Green, also sympathize with how Phoenix hasn't been able to build a contending roster around the franchise star.
Led by Booker's brilliance, the Suns have managed to turn things around ever since the season's return. Phoenix remains the only undefeated team in the bubble after rattling off a 119-112 win over the Miami Heat on Saturday.
The Suns, however, are still on the outside looking in of the playoff race. They're currently the 10th seed in the Western Conference standings. Two games separate them from the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, while the ninth-place Portland Trail Blazers are only half a game above them.
We'll need to see whether Phoenix will eventually punch a ticket to the playoffs. Nonetheless, even if the Suns don't pull this off, their experience in playing in these meaningful games in the bubble should bode well for their development heading into the 2020-21 season.
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