Phoenix’s top two players, Booker and Ayton, exchanged words after the 10-minute cooling off period as members of the media entered the visiting locker room for the tail end of that conversation.
This isn’t Ayton and Booker’s first exchange as Booker has a habit of correcting Ayton’s mistakes on the court. Ayton labels himself as sensitive person asserting that he can sense the emotional level of the team. “When I don’t sense it and the energy is not there, that’s when you start to hear my mouth.”
Ayton’s rookie campaign has been solid and has mostly lived up to his number-one-pick label. His 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 58.7 FG% puts him in the top percentile among rookies for those categories. Devin Booker has also been stupendous averaging over 23 points per game. But when the two leaders can’t turn their individual performances into wins the entire process is doubted.
In order to improve the locker room dynamics the only answer might be to simply win more games. That’s easier said then done in an incredibly deep Western Conference on a team without much top end talent, but the combination of veteran leadership and youthful energy found on the Phoenix Suns’ roster may provide an opportunity to don just that.
