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The Phoenix Suns selected Devin Booker with the 13th overall pick. I don’t like the player, but this is a decent spot for him. It kind of seems like the Sun’s are turning into the late 2000s Sixers. They have a bunch of decent-but-not-great players and seem destined for five 35-win seasons in a row.
Booker was projected to go a few spots higher than this, possibly as high as ninth to the Charlotte Hornets. It’s a position of need for the Suns, and Phoenix is a great fit for him. They’ll run up and down the court, which should free up Booker for more spot up looks he excels at.
The Suns already have a ball dominant point guard in Brandon Knight, which could help hide his weakness as a ball handler and playmaker. Similarly, playing next to P.J. Tucker should allow Booker to guard the opposition’s less threatening wing.
He’s still extremely young with lots of time to patch up the holes in his game. He hasn’t even turned 19 yet, and he already has a concrete NBA skill, which just so happens to be the most important one as well as the one the Suns need most: perimeter shooting. The Suns are in an awkward rebuilding phase currently, and Booker isn’t going to be the face of the franchise, but he could still develop into a impactful NBA starter.
My distaste for Booker’s game has been well documented, and nothing in the last few days has changed my mind. I’m not sold on his potential to be an above average defender, which limits his “3-pointer and defense” selling point. However, my concerns about the player aside, his talents blend in beautifully with the existing roster, as at the 13th pick there are no perfect players available.
