Booker could be an All-Star sooner than later, meaning Phoenix retains a star it can build around for the future.
Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns have agreed to terms on a five-year max contract extension worth $158 million, according to Yahoo!’s Shams Charania. The deal keeps one of the NBA’s brightest young stars on a Suns team attempting to claw its way from the bottom of the Western Conference.
Booker has improved each of his three seasons in the league, culminating with averages of 24.9 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game on 38.3 percent shooting from three-point range in 2017-18. He emerged as a star in the making after scoring 70 points in a March 2017 regular season game against the Boston Celtics.
But as Booker rose as one of the top young guards in the NBA, the Suns continued to wallow at the bottom of the West. At the end of the 2017-18 season, he told reporters he was fed up with missing the playoffs in Phoenix. Some felt his comments put pressure on Suns management to drastically improve over the summer or risk losing the biggest star the franchise has had since Amar’e Stoudemire.
“I’m done with not making the playoffs,” Booker said as the players cleaned out their lockers and conducted exit interviews Wednesday. “I’m serious. This is probably my last year ever not making the playoffs. If that’s putting pressure on myself, I’m going to take this summer and work that hard so that it doesn’t happen again.”
Phoenix has improved so far this summer. They selected Deandre Ayton No. 1 overall and wing Mikal Bridges with pick No. 10. The Suns also signed Trevor Ariza to a one-year, $15 million deal.
Now, they have their superstar locked in through at least the 2023-24 season. Their future is bright, as long as Phoenix doesn’t find a way to mess it up.