Considered one of the brightest young stars in the NBA today, Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker has yet to sniff the postseason, something he sees changing very soon.
Booker just concluded his third professional year with the Suns and the team hasn’t won more than 25 games in any of the three campaigns. With a paltry record of 68-178 over that span, Booker knows the time is now for this budding Suns team to finally arrive and make the jump to playoff contender. Following from AP’s Bob Baum:
“I’m done with not making the playoffs,” rising star Devin Booker said as the players cleaned out their lockers and conducted exit interviews Wednesday. “I’m serious. This is probably my last year ever not making the playoffs. If that’s putting pressure on myself, I’m going to take this summer and work that hard so that it doesn’t happen again.”
His goal is “turning the franchise around and getting it back how it used to be.”
“You watch the highlights of Barkley, Nash and them and how alive the arena was,” Booker said. “So one of my goals is to get it back that way.”
With his eyes set on the playoffs for next season and beyond, Devin Booker and company will have to certainly add some pieces in order maintain in a packed Western Conference.
Though Booker is also complemented by promising young players such as Josh Jackson, TJ Warren, Elfrid Payton, and Dragan Bender, they will need some semblance of veteran talent to even approach the postseason.
The Suns are again set for a high selection in this year’s NBA Draft as they currently hold the best odds for the first overall pick. Hopefully, a top prospect satisfies Booker and turns the Suns into a playoff team but until some major roster moves are made, Phoenix will likely remain an afterthought out West.
