Frustration in Phoenix? Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Suns should be unhappy with results
Kevin Durant should be frustrated.
Any prominent member of the Phoenix Suns – from owner Mat Ishbia to general manager James Jones to players, including Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Durant – should be frustrated.
Phoenix is 14-15 after the Christmas loss to Dallas in which Luka Doncic delivered a 50-piece on the Suns’ defense. After a seven-game winning streak that moved the Suns to 11-6, they have lost nine of their past 12 games, including five of their past six and three in a row.
ESPN reported on Monday that Durant is frustrated with the losses amid concerns about the team’s roster construction and Beal’s injuries.
That is no surprise. He wants to win.
The frustration is mounting with Booker, too, and Eric Gordon expressed dissatisfaction with his role.
This is not the season the Suns expected – in 11th place in the Western Conference. Just an average team in the middle of the rankings offensively (No. 15) and defensively (No. 19).
The problems start with Beal’s injuries – first his back and now his ankle. He has played in just six games and appeared in only two games with Durant and Booker. They have spent 24 minutes on the court together; that’s not how the Suns envisioned their version of the Big Three when they acquired Beal.
The Beal injury has exposed Phoenix’s depth problems. Putting together a Big Three via trades in this era of high salaries and punitive luxury taxes is not easy.
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To get Durant, the Suns gave up Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and first-round picks in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029. To acquire Beal, the Suns traded Chris Paul and Landry Shamet, four first-round-pick swaps and six second-round picks. As part of the deal that sent Damian Lillard to Milwaukee, the Suns traded Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara to Portland for Keon Johnson, Nassir Little and Jusuf Nurkic. The Bucks traded Grayson Allen to Phoenix.
They sacrificed depth to put Durant and Beal alongside Booker – with the idea they could compete for a title.
Phoenix’s front office tried to cobble together depth with team-friendly contracts. It was a commendable effort, even if some within the organization questioned giving up what they did to assemble a Big Three. The depth starts to fall apart when one key piece is removed from the equation, and for Phoenix, the roster is not as good in practice as it is in theory.
The Suns’ bench is 26th in points per game, 24th in field-goal percentage and 30th in 3-point percentage.
Now, with 53 games remaining and Beal not expected to return from the ankle injury until after the new year, the Suns have considerable work ahead just to become a playoff team in the deep Western Conference.
There’s more at stake than just this season. Durant’s contract expires after the 2025-26 season, and Beal can become a free agent in the summer of 2026, too. Booker just signed a massive four-year, $222.6 million extension, but his happiness is vital to the franchise's future.
There aren’t many players who can force their way out, and as we watched in the Lillard situation, it’s not always easy. But Durant has had no problem leaving teams – Oklahoma City to Golden State, Golden State to Brooklyn, Brooklyn to Phoenix.
The Suns don’t have the assets in draft capital or personnel to make drastic roster improvements. It has to come from within, starting with Beal’s health.
The Suns have the third-toughest remaining schedule, according to tankathon.com, making Phoenix's progress one of the league’s more compelling storylines as 2023 turns to 2024.
