Devin Booker - The Kaiser of Empty Stats

[JDJ26]

The owner of the Suns is the problem. Until he takes a step back or sells the team the Suns will continue to be a dumpster fire.

[hongdayuan]

Dude had multiple coaches changed and tons of players traded while he's there. He doesn't even have a legit point guard to help him out. He's a talented scorer, one dimensional but with the right pieces surrounded around him they would win more games.

when you play for one of the worst nba team owners there's only so much you can expect

Sounds like u just described Kevin Martin on the kings.

[Capn'O]

Another pass on Luka victim...

Another pass on Luka victim...

This is true. The Suns would be significantly better if they had:

1. Drafted Luka
2. Moved some of their wing flotsam for a point guard
3. Started Holmes or otherwise acquired a defensive big to start

They need playmaking but also defense at their bigs to account for Booker.

[JDJ26]

Luka wouldn't solve anything on the Suns. They would still be horrible.

The majority of the players that have left the team have said its a culture problem. Which it starts from the top.

Too bad an owner can't be removed for incompetence.

[jlokine]

i thought we've concluded this already... does it really need its own thread?

[kg01]

Luka wouldn't solve anything on the Suns. They would still be horrible.

The majority of the players that have left the team have said its a culture problem. Which it starts from the top.

Too bad an owner can't be removed for incompetence.

I feel your pain there.

We had owners suing each other in court over a trade. After that, we had owners secretly taping each other on free agency calls. Just before that, we had owners making racist comments (not even related to the Ferry stuff). Not long after that, we had the Ferry memo stuff.

It's a shame the NBA can't put an advisor in to stave off clear dysfunction.

That said, amidst all that, we had a 10-year playoff streak. Suns' problems definitely start with Sarver but they don't end there.

[ballup]

3 OBPM
Third among SGs in ORPM.
“They don’t pay players to play defense”- Sir Jabari Parker

Problem lies in his defense and this makes him a net zero player

He's a guard. I'm pretty sure he can't change much about the Suns giving up the league most in points in the paint and second chance points.

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[Biff]

Luka wouldn't solve anything on the Suns. They would still be horrible.

The majority of the players that have left the team have said its a culture problem. Which it starts from the top.

Too bad an owner can't be removed for incompetence.

I feel your pain there.

We had owners suing each other in court over a trade. After that, we had owners secretly taping each other on free agency calls. Just before that, we had owners making racist comments (not even related to the Ferry stuff). Not long after that, we had the Ferry memo stuff.

It's a shame the NBA can't put an advisor in to stave off clear dysfunction.

That said, amidst all that, we had a 10-year playoff streak. Suns' problems definitely start with Sarver but they don't end there.

Not so sure I agree. Barkley has been on record saying Sarver has a repution as a complete control freak and wants to make all the decisions. He literally will not let the people he hires actually do their job. It's hard to be a good GM when you can't make any decisions and Sarver overrides you. Sounds to me like the guys he hires just gather the information necessary to make a decision and then just bring it to Sarver to decide.

The problems with the Suns started with Sarver and they will end with Sarver. We had the highest winning % of all NBA teams prior to him owning the team. He rode the coattails of Steve Nash his first few years and the team has been an absolute dumpster fire ever since Nash left.

[JDJ26]

Luka wouldn't solve anything on the Suns. They would still be horrible.

The majority of the players that have left the team have said its a culture problem. Which it starts from the top.

Too bad an owner can't be removed for incompetence.

I feel your pain there.

We had owners suing each other in court over a trade. After that, we had owners secretly taping each other on free agency calls. Just before that, we had owners making racist comments (not even related to the Ferry stuff). Not long after that, we had the Ferry memo stuff.

It's a shame the NBA can't put an advisor in to stave off clear dysfunction.

That said, amidst all that, we had a 10-year playoff streak. Suns' problems definitely start with Sarver but they don't end there.

Not so sure I agree. Barkley has been on record saying Sarver has a repution as a complete control freak and wants to make all the decisions. He literally will not let the people he hires actually do their job. It's hard to be a good GM when you can't make any decisions and Sarver overrides you. Sounds to me like the guys he hires just gather the information necessary to make a decision and then just bring it to Sarver to decide.

The problems with the Suns started with Sarver and they will end with Sarver. We had the highest winning % of all NBA teams prior to him owning the team. He rode the coattails of Steve Nash his first few years and the team has been an absolute dumpster fire ever since Nash left.

Exactly. McDonough probably had Sarver over his shoulder his entire tenure as GM. Who knows what McD actually had in mind but couldn't do because Sarver was interfering.

Plus Sarver tends to hire bargain bin employees because he can get away paying them peanuts.

I bet Igor is on the cheapest head coaching contract in the league. James Jones can't be getting paid much either.

[drosereturn]

Devin Booker is in his 4th season in the NBA and he signed a $158 million maximum contract extension last summer. He is still good young player but he is clearly not a franchise player material or a superstar. since he came into the league his stats never translated in wins, his team never won more than 24 games with him and that's unacceptable for a guy that talks like his the Man of the team or a star... he is the 3rd in the entire league in turnovers per game and plays one of worst defense in the league... This guy is the Kaiser of Empty Stats.

Terrible player and the most overrated player by media, fans at the same time. He is a hybrid of Lavine and Jabari Parker openly disregarding defense and playing every match like a pick up game. This play for fun mentality discourages other players to play defense and creates this vicious cycle of a toxic culture. Because the team who plays these type of players end up losing nearly every single game, I am not even sure they deserve minimum.

Before he turns into another John Wall, GM would be smart to trade him for bag of chips before everyone finds out he is trash.
Just look at Chicago. Once they got rid of 2 toxic players and replaced their worst net differential in the league with OPJ, they became the number 1 offense team for a certain stretch. If they have gotten rid of Lavine, Blakeney, Dunn, they could have made the playoffs. Also, Bulls looks like it can beat anyone on a given night and looks and rarely will they lose by double digits.

[UnbelievablyRAW]

His team sucks ass but I don't think he can be the best player on a championship team. Projects to be a better CJ imo (if not already better). That type of player isn't the superstar you're looking for to lead you to the promise land

[cuyankees]

Another pass on Luka victim...

Another pass on Luka victim...

This is true. The Suns would be significantly better if they had:

1. Drafted Luka
2. Moved some of their wing flotsam for a point guard
3. Started Holmes or otherwise acquired a defensive big to start

They need playmaking but also defense at their bigs to account for Booker.

Think Luka & Devin would be a good tandem together.

Can understand Fox & Luka not working, but JC & Luka would’ve been great as well. Luka remorse...

[iggymcfrack]

His Defensive deficiencies outweigh his offense and he’s a massive ball hog

People complain about LaVine getting 18m per year when they are basically the same player

Booker’s a year and a half younger. He could still improve. Also, it’s hard to say how much of that terrible defense is situation. When you’re on a terrible team and being asked to handle the scoring load practically every possession, it’s easy to slip at the other end. If he was playing for a good coach with some offensive help on an actual contender, could he do like Kyrie and bring up the D from “massive liability” to “sorta serviceable”? Sure, it’s possible. Of course, he could also be like Demar Derozan and keep getting a bunch of attention for his offense while never helping contribute to winning once his entire career. You never know.

[o0dong]

Another pass on Luka victim...

Another pass on Luka victim...

This is true. The Suns would be significantly better if they had:

1. Drafted Luka
2. Moved some of their wing flotsam for a point guard
3. Started Holmes or otherwise acquired a defensive big to start

They need playmaking but also defense at their bigs to account for Booker.

Think Luka & Devin would be a good tandem together.

Can understand Fox & Luka not working, but JC & Luka would’ve been great as well. Luka remorse...

The Suns suck so much they might ruin Luka's career. Watching Booker I really think he could be a 2nd or 3rd option on a Championship team but as stated above the problem is coming from the top.

[Ryoga Hibiki]

That's the kind of player you don't want to max out, thinking so since that useless 70 point game

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[Lord Cuban]

Told you... the new Kevin Martin....

[SlovenianDragon]

Not gunna bother...

Watch on YouTube

Ill see my way out.

[KobeBryant24]

they will be fine they have the next kobe and shaq

[DusterBuster]

Culture in Phx is horrible. After that 70 point game, you knew what kinda player he was and what that team cares about

This is my problem with Booker too. Yeah, he's talented, but I see zero leadership in his game. Star players can go one of two ways, they can either be a leader and try and bring a team together and make them better than the sum of their parts, or they can go out and get theirs and that's it. There's nothing inherently wrong about a player who just goes out and gets their stats, but you can't build around that type of player. That's what the Suns are trying to do and its part of why they're having no success as a result.

Granted, there's no denying the Suns have done an awful job trying to surround him with good players, but they've brought in a handful of good veterans like Chandler and Ariza, but even when they had those guys - it was the same old story. And again, that's because he's a "get my stats" guy and not a true superstar leader who can put a crap team on his back and at least get them to 35ish wins.

I think the Kevin Martin analogy is pretty spot on. He's more well rounded than Martin was with his rebounding and assists (although at over 4TO's a game, maybe he should stop trying to pass so much), but the overall issue that he's a stats guy and not a franchise pillar is the same.

[Qwigglez]

Culture in Phx is horrible. After that 70 point game, you knew what kinda player he was and what that team cares about

This is my problem with Booker too. Yeah, he's talented, but I see zero leadership in his game. Star players can go one of two ways, they can either be a leader and try and bring a team together and make them better than the sum of their parts, or they can go out and get theirs and that's it. There's nothing inherently wrong about a player who just goes out and gets their stats, but you can't build around that type of player. That's what the Suns are trying to do and its part of why they're having no success as a result.

Granted, there's no denying the Suns have done an awful job trying to surround him with good players, but they've brought in a handful of good veterans like Chandler and Ariza, but even when they had those guys - it was the same old story. And again, that's because he's a "get my stats" guy and not a true superstar leader who can put a crap team on his back and at least get them to 35ish wins.

I think the Kevin Martin analogy is pretty spot on. He's more well rounded than Martin was with his rebounding and assists (although at over 4TO's a game, maybe he should stop trying to pass so much), but the overall issue that he's a stats guy and not a franchise pillar is the same.

You mention Chandler and Ariza as if they have been super successful on their new team this year. Last I checked the Lakers and Wizards aren't making the playoffs.

Your hate for Booker is evident in every Booker thread that pops up. Have you actually watched any games? If so, how many?