Devin Booker

[bwgood77]

Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
Q: How does it feel?
Booker: It feels good. I just hope they are ready to work. I don't care about the number in the draft. I care more about the person. I hope they're ready to work and come in with a winning attitude. I'm looking forward to whoever it is.

Q: Do you have a message for the draftees?
Booker: The NBA is a grind. Be ready. People can tell you all they want. Until you experience it, you won't know. It doesn't matter what number you are. You have to be ready for your opportunities. Whoever comes in with that mindset, you'll be ready.

Q: How did it feel to be on stage with the entire NBA world watching?
Booker: It was more nerve-racking than I thought it would be. For some reason, I thought I had the will to get the number one pick. I came up short, but it's ok. I'm excited for the whole process and the draftees. This is going to change their life. I'm excited for them.

Q: How did it feel to have Kentucky well-represented?
Booker: That's how we are. We're a brotherhood. We're mostly all successful. I'm proud of everything. We work really hard. That's just the mindset you get at Kentucky. I'm proud of everybody. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.

Q: Did you bring any good luck charms with you?
Booker: I brought my good friend Jenna along with me. She's a big fan of this team. She's helped me out a lot this year especially with the long year we had. She's pretty special to me.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/2016-Post-Lottery-Interview-Transcripts-and-Videos-5487

[aIvin adams]

not just the long ball. tj also got muchhh better at midrange and catcha nd shoot jumpers. jsut seemed to become an all around above average shooter in one year. good sign.

i will agree that unless he becomes a better defender than we have any right to expect, then he prolly will never make an ASG. could end up a Thad Young with better scoring and worse rebounding. which would be great

I know what you are saying, but never accuse All-Star Game selections as being too influenced by defense ...

Warren may have to improve his rebounding to make an All-Star Game, though.

By the way, even if Warren's improved three-point shooting does not hold up over the long haul, that would be fine if he reached the free throw line more often. Unfortunately, his free throw attempts have been minimal (career 1.0 per game, 1.8 per 36 minutes), and he has not shot free throws very well (career .711).

Yet since Warren's two-point field goal percentage has been so good (.534), he actually has constituted a fairly efficient scorer (.551 True Shooting Percentage as a rookie, .549 this past season). There are many ways to constitute an efficient scorer. Three-point shooting is the most fashionable way nowadays, but there are others, including the ability to reach the foul line and hit one's free throws or being highly efficient on two-point field goal attempts.

But without major improvement in areas outside of scoring and assisted scoring, he still could be a "zero sum" player. We shall see.

very true about defense. as you figured, i used 'ASG' as shorthand for a level of impact below all-nba (ie, paul george or klay thompson) and above starter (ie, thad young or aminu)

great point about getting to the foul line. i agree 100%. if you'll excuse my orange tinted sunglasses, i would suggest that TJ Warren is more likely than most players to show improvement in that area based on his unusually strong focus on getting the **** ball in the **** basket.

part of his throwback appeal (in good and bad way) is that he acts as if the FT line is a place u go when the other team screws up rather than a place u go when you make a good play on offense. there were a couple times in his rookie year where i thought he was alligator arming it, maybe concerned about getting whacked by full grown men or blocked or maybe just unaccustomed to the speed of the game, as they say. i thought he had improved this year. regardless, i think his FT rate could get better once refs get used to seeing a guy who scores like this:

https://youtu.be/vJRRb76u78k?t=1m31s

linked part at 1:31:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJRRb76u78k[/youtube]

he got the whistle there but you know what i mean. i think refs (understandably) rely on their expectations to make foul calls. TJ seems to have taken an oath to never score the same way twice.

he's a strange bird and while I am persuaded that you are correct about his limitations I'm still hopeful that he becomes a uniquely effective offensive player

[GMATCallahan]

very true about defense. as you figured, i used 'ASG' as shorthand for a level of impact below all-nba (ie, paul george or klay thompson) and above starter (ie, thad young or aminu)

great point about getting to the foul line. i agree 100%. if you'll excuse my orange tinted sunglasses, i would suggest that TJ Warren is more likely than most players to show improvement in that area based on his unusually strong focus on getting the **** ball in the **** basket.

part of his throwback appeal (in good and bad way) is that he acts as if the FT line is a place u go when the other team screws up rather than a place u go when you make a good play on offense. there were a couple times in his rookie year where i thought he was alligator arming it, maybe concerned about getting whacked by full grown men or blocked or maybe just unaccustomed to the speed of the game, as they say. i thought he had improved this year. regardless, i think his FT rate could get better once refs get used to seeing a guy who scores like this:

https://youtu.be/vJRRb76u78k?t=1m31s

linked part at 1:31:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJRRb76u78k[/youtube]

he got the whistle there but you know what i mean. i think refs (understandably) rely on their expectations to make foul calls. TJ seems to have taken an oath to never score the same way twice.

he's a strange bird and while I am persuaded that you are correct about his limitations I'm still hopeful that he becomes a uniquely effective offensive player

I agree (at least unique in terms of current players). If the Suns featured a better playmaker at point guard, I would like Warren's offensive potential even more ...

[darealjuice]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/MarcJSpearsESPN/status/733360052720009216[/tweet]

Our boy got the 3rd most votes for 1st team All-Rookie, only guard voted to the 1st team too

[Blackification]

http://www.si.com/nba/2016/05/19/devin-booker-nba-draft-lottery-phoenix-suns-jenna-warren

Such a good article on Booker and gives so much insight on his character. Seriously hard not to like him on and off the court he is easily becoming my favorite player. I don't know if that one's been posted before but I recommend every suns fan to read it

[darealjuice]

Booker already back in the gym working on his post game, hope he's hitting the weight room with Bledswole too. I love having this kid on the Suns, really excited to see him continue to expand his game next year, he's honestly my favorite player on the roster right now.

[LukasBMW]

I wonder if we really had Frank Kaminsky ahead of Booker on our board last year. I sure hope the Kaminsky stuff was a smoke screen.

Frank the Tank didn't have a bad season, but come on...Booker WILL be a superstar if he stays on track.

[darealjuice]

I wonder if we really had Frank Kaminsky ahead of Booker on our board last year. I sure hope the Kaminsky stuff was a smoke screen.

Frank the Tank didn't have a bad season, but come on...Booker WILL be a superstar if he stays on track.

I'm just gonna hope that was a rumor and be happy we have him instead of Frank lol

[lilfishi22]

I hated the rumors about our interest in Frank. Not that I was particularly high on Booker at the time (thank god I was wrong about him) but I was very much against taking Frank.

[thamadkant]

Some players just get lucky and fall into a team that has room for them to play.


Plenty of talented players get drafted to teams that has good players ahead of them... They get discouraged and their motivation to become stars diminishes... They accept role player mind set and thats dangerous.


Some... Some players with competitive mind set and nature will find a way to get better and climb their way into the starting lineup... Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green etc perfect examples.


Then you have super athletic and gifted players like Perry Jones, Anthony Randolph... With star potential talent... But poor mental approach to the process and weak competitive nature...



Hence the interview process during draft season is huge.... You find out the champion minded players.


Spurs are a team that has 70% riding on the interview and personality of the players and 30% talent... By the way Popovic implied it in some interviews.

[Twuan89]

Could Devin Booker Potentially Become A Superstar & Lead The Phoenix Suns To Their 1st NBA Championship?

[rsavaj]

Could Devin Booker Potentially Become A Superstar & Lead The Phoenix Suns To Their 1st NBA Championship?

I Don't Know, What Do You Think?

[Twuan89]

Could Devin Booker Potentially Become A Superstar & Lead The Phoenix Suns To Their 1st NBA Championship?

I Don't Know, What Do You Think?

I hope so, he has a high ceiling.

[LukasBMW]

Booker put up absurd numbers for a 19 year old.

He is in super elite (hall of fame) company for a few of his rookie achievements.

Barring an injury, an explosion of his ego, or a drug addiction, he will be a superstar.

[DirtyDez]

Booker put up absurd numbers for a 19 year old.

He is in super elite (hall of fame) company for a few of his rookie achievements.

Barring an injury, an explosion of his ego, or a drug addiction, he will be a superstar.

he did not put up absurd numbers. He put up some impressive bulk numbers considering his age. What I would like to see next year is much improved 3pt shooting and a healthy Bledsoe getting him looks. A frontcourt player that can pass from the post would help too but that's getting greedy

[aIvin adams]

Booker put up absurd numbers for a 19 year old.

He is in super elite (hall of fame) company for a few of his rookie achievements.

Barring an injury, an explosion of his ego, or a drug addiction, he will be a superstar.

which numbers/achievements are u referring to?

[LukasBMW]

"Booker became the fourth-youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points. The only players to do that at a younger age were LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant."

Booker and 3 first ballot hall of famers.

He had six 30-point games, the most by any NBA rookie since Blake Griffin in 2010-11.

Not bad.

[Qwigglez]

"Booker became the fourth-youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points. The only players to do that at a younger age were LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant."

Booker and 3 first ballot hall of famers.

He had six 30-point games, the most by any NBA rookie since Blake Griffin in 2010-11.

Not bad.

Also, only teenager to score 30+ points in back to back games besides Lebron James.

[Damkac]

To be honest, many players didn't even had a chance to break those records as they weren't in the league at such young age. Or were on better teams and didn't had much minutes. Booker wouldn't play as much if not the injuries.

But amazing rookie season ofc no doubt about this

[GimmeDat]

Bit of a random question, but do you guys have any idea if Booker plans to play for Peurto Rico in the offseason? The only information I could find was that he couldn't play last year because of the draft/Summer League.

I saw he got selected to the USA select team.. I guess that kills the chances of playing for PR?

That would suck, it's cool to see more competition/parity on the international scale, and he'd be playing alongside Harkless, Barea, Balkman, Ledo and potentially Napier (rumor was he's not interested).