Game 74: Phoenix Suns (35-38) @ Minnesota Timberwolves (41-32) | Mar 28 | 5:00 PM

[bwgood77]

Didn't watch it but Book only 10 points yikes. What happened?

He was being defended hard, doubled, etc, but even when open he looked scared to shoot (he's actually looked scared to shoot a lot it seems lately, and prefer to defer more and pass), Normally I would say I like him moving the ball more, but I think it's tipped too much that way. But it just looks like he simply doesn't have the confidence to shoot, so when he does, they rarely go in. Most of his points were layups, etc. He may have made one shot away from the rim.

[bwgood77]

Just a wee bump in the championship road.

As Ishbia said, he will own the team for 50 years, and we will compete every year, and yes, maybe we won't win a chip 46 or 47 of those years.

[bwgood77]

He must have thought it was an elimination game.

Game 7 mindset... Booker has no killer instinct when the team's chances are on the line.

I know people won't want to hear this but Booker is exiting his physical prime and performances like this are all too frequent this season and it's not just the Wolves throwing hard doubles and big bodies at Book.

He has a hard time getting past defenders and his mid range game is just not the same as it used to be, just look at his performances from 2021 or prior and he looks so much more explosive and able to score even against tough defenses. If KD is gone next season we absolutely need to dump Book if we want to be a competitive team because Book is not a player that can bail you out of tough games.

Yeah, the more I watch it lately the more I think "damn, if we don't trade him his value may start to really sink. We see it, and it's only a matter of time before other teams do as well."

[bwgood77]

Read on Twitter

Being owned by a non contender and there are still people who think we're a role player away from being a contender lol.

The Wolves are great, somehow they are still the 8th seed but I still think they are great, wouldn't be surprise to see them in the WCF. They are one of 2 West team to have beaten OKC twice this season (not counting Dallas because no more Luka and Kyrie now). Although the last game they played was kinda fake but a win is a win.

Funny thing is I'm pretty sure the Dallas wins against OKC were without Luka. I do think if they were fully healthy they would be a tough opponent for OKC due to their size.

[BobbieL]

Game 7 mindset... Booker has no killer instinct when the team's chances are on the line.

I know people won't want to hear this but Booker is exiting his physical prime and performances like this are all too frequent this season and it's not just the Wolves throwing hard doubles and big bodies at Book.

He has a hard time getting past defenders and his mid range game is just not the same as it used to be, just look at his performances from 2021 or prior and he looks so much more explosive and able to score even against tough defenses. If KD is gone next season we absolutely need to dump Book if we want to be a competitive team because Book is not a player that can bail you out of tough games.

Yeah, the more I watch it lately the more I think "damn, if we don't trade him his value may start to really sink. We see it, and it's only a matter of time before other teams do as well."

This is the summer to trade him. Because next year, without Durant, who knows with Beal, the scrap heap around him - his "value" won't increase

[Puff]

I understand the concern over KD's age and how Book is playing this year. However, I still believe most of the blame belongs on Bud.

Listen, we all had our issues with Vogel, but he won 49 games with a less talented roster. Monty also won more games with the KD Book Combo.

The complaints were that Monty never made adjustments. Well, with him as our coach and CP3, we dominated 4th quarters. This guy, Bud to be specific, never makes adjustments and a lot of folks on this board want him back. You put all the blame on KD, Book and Beal. Vogel won 49 games with that group with Nurkic as our Center.

If we do Trade KD to the Spurs for a kings ransom how about bringing CP3 in as our head coach or player coach. I expect that it is an impossible dream, but Bud has to go.

The Bud supporters forget that he turned his nose up to us when we hired Monty and went to the Bucks. After the Bucks fired him he took a year off and then came in running for the money after we fired Vogel.

Our head coach should be either Monty or Vogel not Bud. Hopefully next year it is someone new and young with a competitive edge to make this team better.

SLIM was promoting Udoka prior to him being hired by Houston. I expect that our team would be a whole lot better prepared with Ime as our coach. I cannot remember a Suns team that has played with less consistent energy than this Suns team.

I actually saw a rumor that Bud would end up in San Antonio to replace Popovich. I don't think the Spurs are that dumb.

Wake up, Bud is the biggest problem. He is miserable to deal with and our team has consistently turned the ball over while playing with no energy.

[BobbieL]

I understand the concern over KD's age and how Book is playing this year. However, I still believe most of the blame belongs on Bud.

Listen, we all had our issues with Vogel, but he won 49 games with a less talented roster. Monty also won more games with the KD Book Combo.

The complaints were that Monty never made adjustments. Well, with him as our coach and CP3, we dominated 4th quarters. This guy, Bud to be specific, never makes adjustments and a lot of folks on this board want him back. You put all the blame on KD, Book and Beal. Vogel won 49 games with that group with Nurkic as our Center.

If we do Trade KD to the Spurs for a kings ransom how about bringing CP3 in as our head coach or player coach. I expect that it is an impossible dream, but Bud has to go.

The Bud supporters forget that he turned his nose up to us when we hired Monty and went to the Bucks. After the Bucks fired him he took a year off and then came in running for the money after we fired Vogel.

Our head coach should be either Monty or Vogel not Bud. Hopefully next year it is someone new and young with a competitive edge to make this team better.

SLIM was promoting Udoka prior to him being hired by Houston. I expect that our team would be a whole lot better prepared with Ime as our coach. I cannot remember a Suns team that has played with less consistent energy than this Suns team.

I actually saw a rumor that Bud would end up in San Antonio to replace Popovich. I don't think the Spurs are that dumb.

Wake up, Bud is the biggest problem. He is miserable to deal with and our team has consistently turned the ball over while playing with no energy.

Again, whatever the problems are -- thats fine to look into it
But the solution is to trade Durant and Booker, get under the aprons
which might allow trading Allen and O'Neal

The Suns are not winning with Durant and Booker. The Suns will not win if they try to build around Booker.

[Puff]

I understand the concern over KD's age and how Book is playing this year. However, I still believe most of the blame belongs on Bud.

Listen, we all had our issues with Vogel, but he won 49 games with a less talented roster. Monty also won more games with the KD Book Combo.

The complaints were that Monty never made adjustments. Well, with him as our coach and CP3, we dominated 4th quarters. This guy, Bud to be specific, never makes adjustments and a lot of folks on this board want him back. You put all the blame on KD, Book and Beal. Vogel won 49 games with that group with Nurkic as our Center.

If we do Trade KD to the Spurs for a kings ransom how about bringing CP3 in as our head coach or player coach. I expect that it is an impossible dream, but Bud has to go.

The Bud supporters forget that he turned his nose up to us when we hired Monty and went to the Bucks. After the Bucks fired him he took a year off and then came in running for the money after we fired Vogel.

Our head coach should be either Monty or Vogel not Bud. Hopefully next year it is someone new and young with a competitive edge to make this team better.

SLIM was promoting Udoka prior to him being hired by Houston. I expect that our team would be a whole lot better prepared with Ime as our coach. I cannot remember a Suns team that has played with less consistent energy than this Suns team.

I actually saw a rumor that Bud would end up in San Antonio to replace Popovich. I don't think the Spurs are that dumb.

Wake up, Bud is the biggest problem. He is miserable to deal with and our team has consistently turned the ball over while playing with no energy.

Again, whatever the problems are -- thats fine to look into it
But the solution is to trade Durant and Booker, get under the aprons
which might allow trading Allen and O'Neal

The Suns are not winning with Durant and Booker. The Suns will not win if they try to build around Booker.

I don't know what to make of Beal's extremely sad look on his face every time the camera was on him. Did Bud bench him and he wanted to play and try to help or was it why in world did I accept a trade to this team with this owner. Money is not everything. Hell, if he stayed in Washington, he could be playing with Cooper Flag next year. I think a pairing of him and Cooper could work in Washington. Hopefully we get that done along with firing the coach while trading Book and KD.

Please don't stop and the players. Clean House.

[sashaturiaf]

He must have thought it was an elimination game.

Game 7 mindset... Booker has no killer instinct when the team's chances are on the line.

I know people won't want to hear this but Booker is exiting his physical prime and performances like this are all too frequent this season and it's not just the Wolves throwing hard doubles and big bodies at Book.

He has a hard time getting past defenders and his mid range game is just not the same as it used to be, just look at his performances from 2021 or prior and he looks so much more explosive and able to score even against tough defenses. If KD is gone next season we absolutely need to dump Book if we want to be a competitive team because Book is not a player that can bail you out of tough games.

I really find it hard to believe that a guy at age 27 without a major injury can be exiting his physical prime. That should be the peak of a humans powers in terms of a mix of explosiveness, speed, stamina and strength.


I feel this is either a major prolonged slump, or Book just wasn't as good as everybody thought he was. He was on track to become a perennial 1st/2nd all NBA guy after that finals run but now it's becoming obvious hes more of a Kyrie 2nd banana type rather than a true franchise player.

[garrick]

Game 7 mindset... Booker has no killer instinct when the team's chances are on the line.

I know people won't want to hear this but Booker is exiting his physical prime and performances like this are all too frequent this season and it's not just the Wolves throwing hard doubles and big bodies at Book.

He has a hard time getting past defenders and his mid range game is just not the same as it used to be, just look at his performances from 2021 or prior and he looks so much more explosive and able to score even against tough defenses. If KD is gone next season we absolutely need to dump Book if we want to be a competitive team because Book is not a player that can bail you out of tough games.

I really find it hard to believe that a guy at age 27 without a major injury can be exiting his physical prime. That should be the peak of a humans powers in terms of a mix of explosiveness, speed, stamina and strength.


I feel this is either a major prolonged slump, or Book just wasn't as good as everybody thought he was. He was on track to become a perennial 1st/2nd all NBA guy after that finals run but now it's becoming obvious hes more of a Kyrie 2nd banana type rather than a true franchise player.

He's 28 and will be 29 in October.

If we look at Beal's trajectory he had a huge drop off at age 28 and hasn't been the same kind of player since and while he's a good player now he is a shell of his former self and not worth the max contract.

Booker would look better on a stacked team like Boston where he could work as a facilitator and 2nd banana but I shudder to think about rebuilding around him after a potential KD trade.

[sashaturiaf]

I know people won't want to hear this but Booker is exiting his physical prime and performances like this are all too frequent this season and it's not just the Wolves throwing hard doubles and big bodies at Book.

He has a hard time getting past defenders and his mid range game is just not the same as it used to be, just look at his performances from 2021 or prior and he looks so much more explosive and able to score even against tough defenses. If KD is gone next season we absolutely need to dump Book if we want to be a competitive team because Book is not a player that can bail you out of tough games.

I really find it hard to believe that a guy at age 27 without a major injury can be exiting his physical prime. That should be the peak of a humans powers in terms of a mix of explosiveness, speed, stamina and strength.


I feel this is either a major prolonged slump, or Book just wasn't as good as everybody thought he was. He was on track to become a perennial 1st/2nd all NBA guy after that finals run but now it's becoming obvious hes more of a Kyrie 2nd banana type rather than a true franchise player.

He's 28 and will be 29 in October.

If we look at Beal's trajectory he had a huge drop off at age 28 and hasn't been the same kind of player since and while he's a good player now he is a shell of his former self and not worth the max contract.

Booker would look better on a stacked team like Boston where he could work as a facilitator and 2nd banana but I shudder to think about rebuilding around him after a potential KD trade.

In retrospect the right move was to trade Book last offseason for all of our picks back including a young player or two from Houston. Good luck getting that now after the season Book and the Suns just had.

[thamadkant]

Edwards own Booker so bad.

No way Wolves trade him for Booker as it was suggested by some. Booker has really fallen off this season - no ASG, no playoffs, scoring stats are down. He's trying to play make more and improved A/T ratio but in expense of scoring. May need to let him be the primary option for a season to stat pad before getting traded, though if Suns are bad again next season his value may go down more. Also Ishbia is afraid to trade him as he probably expects this will anger the fanbase even more after the mess he's created.

Edwards has top tier athleticism and physical traits (long wingspan) and has more wing man skills than Booker. Edwards weakness was 3pt shooting and he has fixed that in year 2. Edwards is above Booker already and still getting better while Booker can only get slower.

And only Booker dick riders would consider Booker and Edwards swap was ever a possibility. Edwards is worth 1.5 times Booker at his best.

[BobbieL]

I know people won't want to hear this but Booker is exiting his physical prime and performances like this are all too frequent this season and it's not just the Wolves throwing hard doubles and big bodies at Book.

He has a hard time getting past defenders and his mid range game is just not the same as it used to be, just look at his performances from 2021 or prior and he looks so much more explosive and able to score even against tough defenses. If KD is gone next season we absolutely need to dump Book if we want to be a competitive team because Book is not a player that can bail you out of tough games.

I really find it hard to believe that a guy at age 27 without a major injury can be exiting his physical prime. That should be the peak of a humans powers in terms of a mix of explosiveness, speed, stamina and strength.


I feel this is either a major prolonged slump, or Book just wasn't as good as everybody thought he was. He was on track to become a perennial 1st/2nd all NBA guy after that finals run but now it's becoming obvious hes more of a Kyrie 2nd banana type rather than a true franchise player.

He's 28 and will be 29 in October.

If we look at Beal's trajectory he had a huge drop off at age 28 and hasn't been the same kind of player since and while he's a good player now he is a shell of his former self and not worth the max contract.

Booker would look better on a stacked team like Boston where he could work as a facilitator and 2nd banana but I shudder to think about rebuilding around him after a potential KD trade.

That’s how I feel. I think Detroit makes perfect since. Even Houston

[Hitachi77]

I understand the concern over KD's age and how Book is playing this year. However, I still believe most of the blame belongs on Bud.

Listen, we all had our issues with Vogel, but he won 49 games with a less talented roster. Monty also won more games with the KD Book Combo.

The complaints were that Monty never made adjustments. Well, with him as our coach and CP3, we dominated 4th quarters. This guy, Bud to be specific, never makes adjustments and a lot of folks on this board want him back. You put all the blame on KD, Book and Beal. Vogel won 49 games with that group with Nurkic as our Center.

If we do Trade KD to the Spurs for a kings ransom how about bringing CP3 in as our head coach or player coach. I expect that it is an impossible dream, but Bud has to go.

The Bud supporters forget that he turned his nose up to us when we hired Monty and went to the Bucks. After the Bucks fired him he took a year off and then came in running for the money after we fired Vogel.

Our head coach should be either Monty or Vogel not Bud. Hopefully next year it is someone new and young with a competitive edge to make this team better.

SLIM was promoting Udoka prior to him being hired by Houston. I expect that our team would be a whole lot better prepared with Ime as our coach. I cannot remember a Suns team that has played with less consistent energy than this Suns team.

I actually saw a rumor that Bud would end up in San Antonio to replace Popovich. I don't think the Spurs are that dumb.

Wake up, Bud is the biggest problem. He is miserable to deal with and our team has consistently turned the ball over while playing with no energy.

True that we won 49 games with Vogel, but in the end it was probably the most embarrassing playoff exit in team history. We should have pushed the Wolves to 6 at least. So I don’t give much credit there. If we somehow get to the playoffs and take a game off OKC, I’ll say Bud > Vogel. As it stands, Vogel would be higher but only marginally, 1% maybe. We had some high moments in the regular season last year but the playoffs trump all.

Obviously we were best under Monty (KD Suns). But CP3 was here as a leader and I think we got an adrenaline boost after the KD trade. Crazy to think about but if Jokic got suspended for elbowing a fan, which is apparently not as bad as leaving the bench when your teammate gets hip checked, we probably get past Denver. Then we’d be facing a 7 seed followed by an 8 seed for the title. Nuts.

I think there’s plenty of blame to go around, really. Blame the coach. Blame the players. Blame the roster construction.

[thamadkant]

KD is trash. I don't care what any of you all say. He will get his points, he will be considered a star, but what he lacks is leadership! Dude doesn't make anyone around him better, he isn't vocal, etc. Booker and the Suns did amazing with CP3 being a vocal veteran leader! We need to find our next CP3, and get rid of KD.

Nah, KD is suns best player bur agreed on the leadership bit. Hence I didn't mind the Butler plus picks for Booker trade scenario. Butler as leader with Beal and KD... suns was interesting, because Butler will literally drag them up to step up.

But alas, Suns are stuck with non leaders as Super Max players