The Phoenix Suns were never going to recoup after the Kevin Durant trade.
What was supposed to be the new power in the West has now died: KD is now on his third team in five years, and Phoenix has all but told Beal to not let the door hit him on the way out. The Suns are back to where they were prior to their Finals run with Chris Paul, only with a much more expensive — and likely much more frustrated — Devin Booker.
But hidden in this trade is actually Phoenix's first savvy-ish move since the disastrous KD deal with the Brooklyn Nets. Yes, they're still bogged down by an absolute glut of wings, but Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks are a very intriguing pairing with Book, and the Suns used their top-10 pick wisely to draft the best projected center in the 2025 class in Duke's Khaman Maluach.
And for Jalen Green, this could be the exact reset he needs
Green never really quite lived up to his potential in Houston. Prior to the 2021 draft, he was ranked as high as the third-best prospect on Kevin O'Connor and The Ringer's big board, and Yahoo Sports' Gary Parrish claimed he had the highest star potential out of anyone in the 2021 class outside of Cade Cunningham.
And Green has scored as advertised. But not only has his game not effectively evolved in the years since the 2021 draft, he's been a pretty inefficient microwave for a Houston team that has pivoted to a new primary star. And if we're being especially critical, it's telling that the Rockets picked up Fred VanVleet as soon as they could in order to serve as the primary ball handler.
But the hints of greatness still remain, even inconsistently. Remember him breaking Hakeem's record to become the youngest Rocket to score 35+ in the playoffs? Granted, Green failed to crack 13 points in every other one of Houston's games against the Golden State Warriors in that series. (Not to mention that Houston was legitimately three points away from winning a critical Game 4 that could have swung things entirely.)
Take that Golden State series as a microcosm of Green's career thus far: Drafted to be a primary star, but unable to grow past the role of a ball-dominant scorer (he and Alperen Sengun boasted Houston's highest usage rates in 2025), gifted as he is.
But put Green in a system with someone like Booker, who is already an All-NBA-caliber scorer and playmaker, and he's bound to thrive with the decreased pressure that comes with being a second option. Add in schemes where Green is able to run roughshod over second units, and it's easy to see how he could explode. And for Booker, Green provides a far more dynamic outlet than the decrepit, soulless corpse that was Bradley Beal, especially with how far Book has come as a truly well-rounded playmaker.
And with some early development from Maluach and Dillon Brooks' guaranteed ability to change the intensity of a team, Green & Co. could be exactly what the Suns were looking for to get themselves and Booker over the edge.