Every single day, Fanspo casuals post trade machines shipping Book out for a handful of mid-tier players and a couple of late FRPs under the guise of a Phoenix rebuild. Let me enlighten you on why trading a franchise cornerstone in his absolute prime is the most short-sighted, brainwashed move a front office could ever make.
1. His Prime Is Coming Soon / Is In His Prime
Booker is only 29 years old. He is entering his absolute prime physical and basketball years right now. He is one of the only true guards in the league who can seamlessly play point guard, drop 40 as an off-ball sniper, and carry an entire offense on his back. You do not willingly give up an All-NBA tier talent exactly when he is hitting his best years just to hand the keys to somebody else. It makes zero basketball sense.
2. Draft Pick Delusion
Let’s say Phoenix actually trades Book for 4 first rounders. What is the goal of those picks??? To hopefully, miraculously draft a player half as good as Devin Booker!! You do not trade a proven, 3-level scoring superstar who drops 26 and 6 in his sleep just to gamble on unknown rookies who will probably bust anyway.
3. Gravity
You don't just trade Booker because of his stats, you keep him because of his gravity. Having a tier-1 scoring threat on the court completely changes how defenses play you. He draws double teams at the logo, opens up the entire floor for his teammates, and makes every single role player next to him look 10 times better than they actually are. You can't replace that type of impact with a couple of mid starters and draft capital
4. His Playoff Preformence
Casuals love to meme the Dallas series from years ago but completely forget this man dropped back-to-back 40-point games on historic 80% efficiency against the Nuggets in the playoffs. When the lights are the brightest, he is completely unguardable. Half the "stars" people try to trade him for turn into absolute ghosts when the postseason starts (Fox, Butler). Book is a certified bucket when it matters most
So unless a franchise is offering a top-10 superstar and their entire future, keep the garbage trade machine drafts in your drafts folder. Y'all looking goofy fr