Under owner Mat Ishbia, the Phoenix Suns haven’t reached the heights many expected. With the most expensive roster in the NBA featuring Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal, the Suns went a combined 85-79 with zero playoff wins.
Now, with Durant and Beal gone, Phoenix is left with Booker and a supporting cast that lacks any true championship hopes. After trading away a majority of their picks and assets, the Suns are now in one of the toughest spots out of any team in the NBA.
Most recently, Ishbia said he doesn’t expect to grade the success of the upcoming season by wins, but rather the improvement he sees.
“I hope that we win more games than we won last year, but the truth is, it’s not going to be measured in wins and losses this year, but it is going to be measured in success,” Ishbia said during the Suns’ preseason media day.
With Phoenix having no clear path forward after multiple failed roster experiments, it may be time for them to move on from their franchise star in Booker and begin a full rebuild under one of the most polarizing owners in the league.
Devin Booker Trade Pitch
While extremely prolific offensively, Booker has seen limited success in Phoenix. After one Finals run followed by multiple early exits, the Suns have spent the money, but haven’t seen it translate to winning.
After all the failed moves made by Ishbia and the front office, Phoenix could look at trading its 28-year-old franchise star for a massive haul that helps it rebuild with young players and draft picks.
Queue up the Detroit Pistons. With the rise of Cade Cunningham as an MVP candidate, the Pistons won their first playoff game in 17 years last postseason and have slowly built up what was previously the worst team in the league.
Here’s what a full trade pitch would look like if Detroit wants to turn into a true contender.
Detroit Pistons receive: Devin Booker
Phoenix Suns receive: Ron Holland II, Jaden Ivey, Tobias Harris, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2029 first-round pick, and a 2031 first-round pick
“(Booker) is precisely the kind of shot-maker and creator who would prevent defenses from overloading on Cunningham,” Zach Buckley wrote for Bleacher Report. “With Booker and Cunningham leading the offense, and the key components of Detroit’s top-10 defense still in place, the Pistons could power their way into the East’s elite tier already this season.”
After their success last season, the Pistons making a move like this makes sense as they hope to take the next step as a title contender. But for the Suns, a Booker trade is a bit less straightforward.
However, with both the internal and external turmoil of the franchise, it might be the team’s best move to move on.
“The Suns are seemingly going nowhere fast, and that could be painfully obvious by the time Booker becomes trade-eligible in mid-January,” Buckley added.
Suns Going Nowhere Fast
Along with Ishbia’s comments about measuring success in the 2025-26 season, the Suns have come under scrutiny after it was made public that the team is facing multiple lawsuits from people previously with the team.
“The franchise have been sued multiple times since 2024,” David Brandt wrote for the Associated Press. “Most recently, two minority owners of the Suns sued Ishbia in August, demanding to see records in order to investigate the status of the team’s business and financial condition.”
Ishbia and the Suns have multiple other impending lawsuits surrounding issues from discrimination to wrongful termination. The owner himself called the lawsuits a ‘money grab.’
“Where I’m different than most successful people, or people that you say have a lot of money, is we don’t settle,” he said. “So if we don’t do anything wrong, I’m not paying someone. If their threat is they’re going to go to the media and write (about) a lawsuit, have fun. Cool. Write it.”
Along with the legal troubles, the Suns’ roster features little to get excited about. Besides Booker, they got back Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks in the Durant trade while adding Mark Williams over the summer, but besides them, the talent falls off.
Phoenix was recently ranked at the bottom of the league in an ESPN power rankings, and is tied for the second-worst odds to win the 2026 NBA Finals according to ESPN Bet.
The Suns are in a tough spot, and while trading Booker might be the smartest play, a move like that is a lot easier said than done. However, a trade like the one above could become more appealing if their upcoming campaign gets off to a bad start.
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