The Devin Booker era in Phoenix isn't ending anytime soon. On Wednesday, the Suns signed Booker to a two-year, $145 million extension that keeps him under contract through 2030, according to Shams Charania. No typo. That's over $70 million per year starting in 2028-29. The number sounds made up right now, but when 2029 actually rolls around, it won't be out of the ordinary for NBA superstars.
Average salary aside, extending Booker shows that the Suns are committed to their homegrown star. It also means the pressure to win — on Booker, but moreso on the franchise at large — just ratcheted up even more. Booker just gave a vote of confidence that Phoenix can build him a winner. Now Mat Ishbia and Brian Gregory need to grab their hard hats and get to building.
The Booker and KD pairing didn't work, and now Durant is a member of the Houston Rockets. In his place are Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks who can both help the Suns, but don't put them among the West's elite teams.
The Suns have been competitors one time in 10 years with Devin Booker
It doesn't feel like a decade has passed since Devin Booker joined the Suns, but it has. Ten full years. In that time, the Suns have made one NBA Finals... and not a whole lot else. At all. They were swept in the first round last year, bounced in the second round the year before (and the year before) and didn't even sniff the postseason in the six years prior to the Finals run with Booker on the roster.
For the record, I am not blaming Devin Booker for the Suns having multiple inept front offices — in a league full of constant change, it's refreshing to see the Suns stick with Book and vice versa.
But with a superstar locked down for six more years (and paid like a super superstar), wins have to come quickly, or else the Suns will soon start looking like they wasted the entire prime of one of the few NBA stars willing to stick with a franchise through it all... because they will have.
Devin Booker signing an extension doesn't mean it's time for the Phoenix Suns to kick their feet up and relax because their star player is staying home. It's time to actually give him a chance to win in the postseason.