It’s May 1. The Phoenix Suns’ season is over. I did not think this would be the case when, like The Avengers in Endgame, the team assembled last September for training camp. The level of talent on paper was the best we’ve ever seen in the Valley of the Sun. A paper championship loses to scissors every time, and that came in the form of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the First Round.

We’re all slowly coming to grips with the reality that the season is over. The players have dispersed and are sitting on golden beaches with curacao-colored cocktails in their hands. Meanwhile, we’re trying to play chess with the organization’s pieces, strategically moving pawns around in hopes that we can checkmate the Larry O’Brien trophy one day. They aren’t our pieces to move, but we’ll provide our suggestions along the way.

The body of the 2023-24 season isn’t cold yet and people are coming to steal the team’s wallet. One of those is Stephen A. Smith, a well-known pot stirrer and hot take head for ESPN.

“From what I’m being told, and probably I don’t know if it’ll ever happen, but Devin Booker wants to be in New York,” the First Take host stated. “That’s what I’m being told. Now, he might deny it, I haven’t spoken to him, but I’m just telling you, the scuttlebutt in the NBA circles is that brother wants to be in New York.”

Oh, did I mention he is a New York Knicks fan?

He has been beating the “Booker to New York” drum for years, and none of it has come from a place of merit. Any chance he can though, when the Suns are at their lowest, Smith seizes the opportunity to fabricate his fantasies and attempt to use his platform to shift the narrative.

Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports dispelled the rumors, stating, “A source from Devin Booker’s camp who’s intimately familiar with the situation told PHNX Sports that these rumors are unequivocally false.”

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The postseason was rough for Phoenix as a team. Devin Booker, who was constantly and consistently flustered by the long and effective defense of the Minnesota Timberwolves, averaged just 20.3 points on 43.2% shooting through the first three games of the series. His leadership was questioned, as was his ability to step up and take the reins of the team.

Booker snapped out of it for a 49-point performance in Game 4, but it was too little too late for the Suns’ star. The team was clearly broken, and everyone had their hand in dropping the proverbial priceless China that shattered into countless pieces. Booker was not immune from being criticized for his part in the failed expectations of the team.

That doesn’t mean that he isn’t the cornerstone of the franchise. That doesn’t mean that the failure of this season means the Suns could — or should — push the detonator on this team and blow it into the next decade. Yeah, Stephen A. Smith wants that, which should fortify why the team shouldn’t.

Call it what it is. A shit year. An unfortunate series of perpetual blunders. An embarrassment, a failure, a typical outcome for the Suns. Don’t amplify bad decisions with more bad decisions.

We will have plenty of conversations this offseason. I will spend way too many hours writing and/or podcasting about this team. I’ll propose, discuss, and contemplate numerous outcomes and options for the Suns. Do you know which one won’t cross my mind?

Trading Devin Armani Booker.

Let’s start with the basics as to why.

Reason #1: Devin has never remotely hinted at any desire to leave

We’ve never seen Booker do anything with his actions or say anything with his words that would remotely hint or be construed as he is interested in leaving the Suns or the Phoenix area. He’s had chances throughout his nine-year tenure in Phoenix to do so.

That door has been opened for him more times than a Circle K entrance during the morning rush of people fiending for their caffeine. The team was horrible during his first four years, going 87-541. He didn’t ask out. The culture was fractured from the top down. He didn’t ask out. He’s had seven coaches in nine years. He didn’t ask out.

Why would now, after his “a superteam will come to me” comments have been fulfilled, would he want to leave? Because his team had one rough season? Because they were swept? That makes no sense. I believe that is why they call it “nonsense”.

Reason #2: The Suns have invested in him

Booker is in his prime and entering the first year of his super-max four-year deal, valued at $221 million. Next season he will make $49.4 million. Cha-ching?

I don’t believe that he’ll ask out after starting that deal, although if he wanted pointers on how to do it, he wouldn’t have to look far. Kevin Durant, who signed a four-year, $194.2 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets before the 2022-23 season, asked to be traded that season. To the Suns.

From a management standpoint, you don’t trade the guy on your team who is in his prime, especially when you have the talent level that the Suns do, to begin a rebuild. You just don’t. Again, nonsense.

Reason #3: Phoenix is Booker’s town

What is the deeper reasoning behind holding on to Booker? He is Phoenix. This is his town. He means so much to this community. Booker is interwoven with the culture in Phoenix. The City Edition ‘El Valle’ leaned heavily into Booker’s heritage, and for good reason. He has a connectivity to the fanbase that is truly hard to replicate.

Even though he performed poorly in the postseason (for the most part) he’ll still get a very high approval rating amongst the fan base. You don’t put that on the block and see what happens. You hold on to the only remaining member of the 2021 NBA Finals team. You want him to retire in Phoenix as a Sun. If not, you’re just chasing your tail, praying you get a guy like that back in the Valley.

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There are still the naysayers out there who believe that now is the time to capitalize on Booker’s talent and value on the open market. I see your point of view. Sell high, right? Press the ‘reset’ button and start all over again? Is that what is going to make you happy?

People will flock to the trade machine. It’s just what they do. I get it. I do it too. I like to see what possibilities are out there to see if I can add some discourse to fixing what was broken in Phoenix last year. There’s nothing wrong with it. You do you, boo.

But I’m not including Devin Booker in any of my trade machine concoctions. I know the Suns’ future isn’t the brightest it’s ever been due to the number of assets the team gave up to build their superteam. There are answers out there, but trading Booker won’t cross my mind or exit my lips. He is the future of the Suns, whatever that may be.

Trading Kevin Durant? Now that is a different story…