Devin Booker is still the Suns’ lone player inside ESPN’s top 100, but his spot in the preseason rankings took a hit.
After checking in at No. 16 last year, Booker landed at No. 20 when ESPN rolled out players 11 through 50. That drop of four places follows a season in which the workload sat heavily on his shoulders, especially after he no longer had Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal or Chris Paul around to absorb some of the scoring and playmaking burden.
ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill framed Booker as a star who has been asked to adapt to all kinds of different Suns builds and still keep producing.
"Booker is one of the most malleable stars as the Suns have assembled various teams around him in recent years and yet, he continues to thrive. From teaming with Chris Paul to playing alongside Kevin Durant to now, having Dillon Brooks as a running mate.
Pencil him in for 26 points and 6 assists, the ability to play both guard positions and playing through nicks and bruises. His 11 years in the league have been in the Valley, and he’s signed through 2029-30 -- a rare one-team star. -- Goodwill"
ESPN also highlighted a couple of numbers that show how Booker keeps generating offense in heavy volume. He was one of five players with at least 1,000 drives last season, and one of eight to score 1,000 points when driving, according to Genius IQ tracking. The fantasy projection attached to him came in at 26.5 points, 6.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds.
From a Suns perspective, the ranking makes sense after a year that never really gave Booker much breathing room. He shot 33% from three, his lowest mark from deep since 2018-19, and finished at 45.6% from the field, his worst overall shooting season since 2017-18. Even with an All-Star nod, he had trouble in late-game and clutch situations as the season wore on.
There were stretches where double teams pulled him back into familiar problems, and the lack of a true release valve around him only made those possessions tougher. Some of that came down to scheme, some to execution, but either way it pointed to a season of adjustment for Booker.
That doesn’t have to define what comes next. The source of the pressure should look different this time, with better health from Jalen Green and the addition of Miles Bridges giving Booker more help and more gravity around him.
Still, the new ranking reflects how uneven last season was overall. Tyrese Haliburton jumped past him after missing last year’s list because of injury, LeBron James stayed ahead, and Scottie Barnes climbed high enough to raise eyebrows.
Booker, meanwhile, sits at No. 20.
In Other News...
Devin Booker Trade Talk Says Everything About The Suns Right Now
Devin Booker trade chatter tends to say as much about the Suns present situation as it does about Bookers future, and this latest round is no exception. Yossi Gozlan floated the Clippers as a possible destination down the line, pointing to their need for an older star and the kind of win-now profile that Booker would obviously fit if the conversation ever got serious.
For Phoenix, though, the more important reality is that the noise does not line up with the teams stance or its leverage. Bookers contract is a difficult one to move in the abstract, but the Suns have no real incentive to engage unless a deal truly changes their outlook, and the Clippers do not appear to have the kind of package that would push Phoenix in that direction. So while Bookers name will keep surfacing whenever star-hunting teams come up, this particular rumor feels more like a reminder of how central he remains to the franchise than a sign that anything is close. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Training Camp Just Put Several Rotation Spots In Play
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Ryan Dunn is also in the middle of that fight, getting a chance to show what he can do as Phoenix sorts through its options. The camp competition has only become more interesting because the Suns are dealing with a fresh opening that could shift how the frontcourt is managed, and that gives Dunn a path to playing time if he can take advantage of it. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Have A Collin Gillespie Question That Could Reshape The Backcourt
Collin Gillespies place in the Suns backcourt has become one of those rotation questions that can quietly shape a season. After spending last year as a starting guard for much of the way, he is now back in a reserve role, first off the bench behind Devin Booker and Jalen Green, and the shift says as much about the roster around him as it does about Gillespie himself. For Phoenix, the issue is not simply whether he can help, but whether his best value comes as a stabilizing second-unit piece or as someone who can handle a larger role when the lineup gets tight.
There is reason for the Suns to keep revisiting it. Gillespies starts last season were useful enough to keep him in the conversation, but they also came in a stretch when the teams guard picture was constantly changing and necessity played a big part in his workload. With Green now in the starting group, Phoenix has a different look at the position, yet the comparison only sharpens the question of whether Gillespies earlier run was a glimpse of a bigger role to come or simply the product of a team patching holes as best it could. [Read more 🡒]