They’re two different teams when they have Booker and Durant playing together as opposed to when they’re not.
Injuries, suspensions, and second-half meltdowns contributed to the Phoenix Suns’ disappointing 15-17 record through the 2024 part of the season.
Many Valley fans are reminiscing about better times, including the 2021 Finals Run.
— Brandon Awadis (@brawadis) January 2, 2025
However, through the losing times, when the team’s star duo of Devin Booker and Kevin Durant are both in the lineup, the Suns are still formidable.
When both the Slim Reaper and Book are playing, the team is 13-4. Averaging 28 and 25 points respectively, both of them are unsurprisingly having elite seasons. With wins against the Dallas Mavericks, Lakers, and Miami Heat, the team can compete, and beat current playoff teams when they are both playing.
It’s when they are not playing that the team starts to struggle. When one of them misses a game, the team’s record drops to 2-13, atrocious.
For a team that is star-reliant, either Booker and KD need to stay healthy, or the season is going to continue to tumble. While the front office and coaching staff deserve credit for luring Tyus Jones to join the team for the minimum, and getting career seasons out of Royce O’Neale this year and Grayson Allen last year, the main issue with the Suns is that they are too star-dependent.
With Bradley Beal not only being physically unreliable but also inconsistent in his performance when he plays, just Booker and Durant alone are not enough to bridge the overall talent gap that they have in many games.
For teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Boston Celtics, if Chet Holmgren or Kristaps Porzingis miss extended time, they have players like Isaiah Hartenstein and Al Horford that can replace them that can at least give 80-90 percent of the production of the players that they are replacing. With the Suns, if Booker or Durant (or both) are playing poorly they are in a foxhole, with no one coming to save them.
Phoenix is limited in their trade options due to being over the second apron, and a Jimmy Butler trade to Phoenix is still seemingly unlikely, the Suns just need to hope both their stars stay healthy.
Sure, trading away Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkić may minimally improve the team, but if they aren’t so valuable to the Suns, they are not likely to be that valuable to other teams, especially with both on long-term deals. The Suns also only have their 2031 first-round pick to trade.
The Suns’ path back up the standings relies on Booker and Durant being healthy, which unfortunately isn’t a given.