Suns’ Unfair Treatment of Devin Booker Called Out Amid $150M Contract Talks

The Phoenix Suns were supposed to be a championship contender, a “Big 3” powerhouse ready to take over the West. Instead? They’ve turned into an absolute train wreck, a team that’s now being called out by top NBA insiders for being in maybe the “worst situation in the history of the NBA.” And stuck right in the middle of this chaotic mess is their homegrown superstar, Devin Booker. As Booker is reportedly on the verge of inking a massive $150 million contract extension, a recent, fiery discussion on ESPN’s “The Hoop Collective” podcast has put a major spotlight on what’s being described as the “unfair” position the Suns’ front office has put him in.

The conversation, led by a clearly exasperated Brian Windhorst, painted a grim picture of the Suns’ franchise. Windhorst didn’t pull any punches, laying out the nightmare scenario: “They have no control over their drafts for the next several years, they’re in cap hell, they have Bradley Beal who they cannot trade because he has a no trade clause, they have no draft picks to improve the team, they have an aging Kevin Durant who they now have annoyed…” He described it as a situation with “no path out… that doesn’t involve a lot of pain.” On top of all that, they’ve just hired an inexperienced head coach (Jordan Ott) and an inexperienced GM (Brian Gregory).

But the most bizarre part of the whole situation? A recent internal memo from Suns owner Mat Ishbia. According to reports, Ishbia basically apologized to his employees, saying he made the classic new owner mistake of hiring people and letting them do their jobs, and now he intends to be more involved. Windhorst’s reaction was one of pure disbelief, calling Ishbia’s approach “completely misguided and counterproductive,” especially since his fingerprints were already all over the blockbuster trades for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal – moves that were all about “stars, stars, stars” and seemed to forget about actual team fit and financial flexibility.

So, how is all this unfair to Devin Booker? Well Booker, their one true long-term, valuable asset, is being put in some seriously tough spots. First, he’s about to play for his fourth head coach in four seasons because the owner keeps firing the old ones. And for this latest coaching search? The front office reportedly came to Booker with a list of five finalists who have all never been head coaches before, and basically asked him to pick one and “marry” himself to them. As Windhorst put it, “it’s unfair to him to have to ratify a coaching hire” from a list of first-timers, a move that puts all the pressure on Booker if the new coach doesn’t work out.

This all comes as Booker is eligible for a massive $150 million extension. The sentiment on the podcast was clear: “He better be getting that 150 million” for everything the organization is putting him through. Booker has been fiercely loyal to Phoenix, repeatedly saying he wants to be a “one team player” and win a championship there.

But he’s also said, “My whole career, except for the NBA, I’ve been a winner. I want to get back to that.” With the team reportedly open to trading other key players like Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, it’s clear changes are coming. But with an owner vowing to be more hands-on and a roster with zero flexibility, you have to wonder how much longer Booker’s loyalty will last if this unfair treatment continues.

From bad to worse? Owner’s money problems add new layer to Suns’ chaos

Just when you thought the situation in Phoenix couldn’t get any messier, a new and frankly troubling report has emerged that adds a whole other layer of dysfunction to the mix. There are now whispers about the financial situation of Mat Ishbia. And for a team already in cap hell, this is the last thing fans want to hear.

The Athletic’s Zach Harper, on the “Basketball Illuminati” podcast, recently revealed that there have been rumors circulating for the past year about the Suns’ ownership group and their cash flow. As Harper put it, “…There were rumors within the last year that the Suns [ownership] might not have money. Ishbia might not have cash… There’s questions about his business [United Wholesale Mortgage] and how liquid it was.” Sigh.

Now, let’s be clear: Mat Ishbia is a billionaire. He bought the Suns for a record $4 billion in February 2023, a massive purchase he was able to make by pledging shares from his hugely successful company, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), which his father founded. According to a Bloomberg report at the time, Ishbia pledged stock worth about $4.6 billion to secure the loans needed for the deal. And Forbes still estimates his net worth at a massive $7.3 billion. So, this isn’t a case of an owner being “broke” in the traditional sense. But the whispers about his liquidity are concerning, especially for a team that’s spending like crazy.

And that’s what makes this so weird. The Suns just paid the highest luxury tax in the entire NBA this past season, a whopping $152.2 million. That doesn’t exactly scream “out of money.” But it does raise the question of whether that spend-at-all-costs approach is sustainable, especially if the rumors about his business’s liquidity are true. Can he keep footing that kind of massive tax bill for a team that isn’t even making the playoffs? It’s a fair question.

This news is just another log on the fire for a fanbase that’s already on edge. The team is facing disaster after disaster. While Mat’s brother, Justin Ishbia, is making moves to become the future controlling owner of the Chicago White Sox, showing the family is still all-in on sports ownership, the situation in Phoenix looks messier. For Devin Booker and the fans who have stuck by him, it’s just another grim problem threatening a franchise that seems to be getting further and further away from a championship contention.

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