NBA Trade Rumors: Boston Celtics Should Go All-In For Devin Booker, ‘Sportskeeda’ Suggests
Since being drafted as the No. 13 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker has managed to turn himself into an All-Star-caliber player. In his first four years in the NBA, Booker has been consistently showing improvements with his game. In 64 games he played last season, he averaged 26.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 6.8 assists on 46.7 percent shooting from the field, and 32.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Unfortunately, despite Devin Booker’s explosive performance almost every night, the Suns remain as one of the worst teams in the NBA. Booker may be under contract with the Suns over the next five years, but if they don’t show improvement in the 2019-20 NBA season, he could soon follow the footsteps of other NBA superstars and find his way out of Phoenix. When that happens, Tristan Elliott of Sportskeeda believes that the Boston Celtics should take advantage of the situation and “throw everything” to acquire Booker from the Suns before the 2020 February NBA trade deadline.
“As things stand, Boston has no chance at competing with the Sixers, Nets, and Bucks — and aside from Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker, the Celtics should allow the Suns to have their pick of players. Ultimately, the Celtics need a player of Booker’s caliber to challenge the East’s best, and the team should throw everything at a deal if the Suns show any appetite to trade Booker.”
Devin Booker was double teamed more times last season than Damian Lillard or James Harden.
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The departure of Kyrie Irving and Al Horford in the 2019 NBA free agency has undeniably affected the Celtics’ chances of contending for the NBA title in the 2019-20 NBA season. Though they managed to replace Irving and Horford with Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter, it is still hard to imagine the Celtics beating other Eastern Conference powerhouse teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers in a best-of-seven series. The potential acquisition of Devin Booker could change that narrative.
Adding Devin Booker to the core of Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward, and Enes Kanter would make the Celtics one of the top teams to potentially dominate the Eastern Conference next season. Booker would give the Celtics a very reliable option on the offensive end of the floor, and as Elliott noted, he and Jayson Tatum could form a “lethal partnership” in Boston.
As of now, the Suns haven’t shown any sign that they are planning to trade Devin Booker, but if they finally decide to part ways with the face of the franchise, the Celtics would be an ideal trade partner. In the potential deal that would send Booker to Boston, the Suns could demand a trade package including young players and future draft picks that could help them speed up the rebuilding process.
