Suns Buy/Sell: Devin Booker, Trade Rumors, and More

The Suns have lots of questions to answer over the coming months.

Dec 15, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) reacts between plays in the second half during a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images | Allan Henry-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- The last several days of action has brought generally strong yields for the Phoenix Suns - who went from one game over .500 to inside of the top four of the Western Conference in said timespan.

While circumstances could certainly be looking up for Phoenix moving forward, there are still some very pointed questions that have to be asked - with answers preferably coming prior to the trade deadline on February 6.

Three major questions facing the Suns - from trade rumors to upcoming schedule - and out best estimations of answers to those questions:

Suns Will Secure Jimmy Butler Trade

The report that broke the internet several days ago was none other than Shams Charania stating that Heat star forward Jimmy Butler was indeed interested in joining the Suns via trade before his expected entry into free agency in July.

On one side of being in favor of making a move, Butler would be a better basketball fit compared to Bradley Beal. A potential opt-out ahead of free agency would open the door for Phoenix to fall under both the first and second apron - which would either give the front office an option to potentially retain Butler and Tyus Jones - or the ability to recalculate roster construction yet again.

The possibility of losing Butler would be a tough sell for some, but it feels like a move should be explored at the very least.

Whether a trade is actually agreed upon or not is likely heavily contingent on Beal's ultimate decision, but Brian Windhorst of ESPN believes that there is in fact traction towards a deal being agreed upon.

Only time will tell if it actually materializes - but it certainly doesn't seem impossible.

Verdict: TBD, could go either way

Devin Booker Has Returned to All-Star Form

One of the recurring themes of the season thus far has been the Suns' franchise player simply hasn't played up to standards to begin 2024-25 - although that has been a previous concern, so some brushed it off as much to do about nothing.

His dips in efficiency have been a major point of contention amongst those that have chosen to not ignore this start.

"Devin Booker this year is not playing like an All-NBA player. ... Without Kevin Durant, this team is a lottery team."

Those are the words of Bobby Marks of ESPN - who along with other media members and an anonymous NBA scout - have been trying to dissect what has gone wrong for Booker in the first two months of the season.

Fortunately, Booker has figured things out lately.

He has been getting to his spots more comfortably, creating more naturally for others out of playing off of that, and has capped it off by playing some inspired defense - particularly in stretches - as of late.

It feels like this is just the beginning of All-NBA Book this season - and all it took was two games to get to that stage.

Verdict: Buy, he has figured things out.

Suns Will Finish December 10 Games Over .500

A point of interest lately has been analyzing how much momentum Phoenix can truly build over the next several weeks with a generally favorable slate of games.

The Suns' schedule to close out 2024 is fairly reasonable, with games against the Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, and Denver Nuggets coming up.

The Suns will close the year with dates against the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, and Memphis Grizzlies after this upcoming stretch - although not the easiest set of games, it is a manageable slate.

The Suns would have to finish December 6-1 to get to 10-games over by the start of 2025. While that feels improbable, they could certainly go 4-3 or 5-2 during this stretch.

Verdict: Sell, but Suns could finish month on high note