The floundering Phoenix Suns reportedly made a move on Wednesday when they agreed to acquire center Nick Richards and a second-round draft pick from the Charlotte Hornets for wing Josh Okogie and three second-round picks.
But it will take a lot more than Richards to rescue the Suns, who have a 19-20 record and would not make the play-in tournament if the regular season were to end right now.
There have been trade rumors swirling around the Suns, and star guard Devin Booker is one player who has come up in those rumors.
Should Booker get dealt, the Houston Rockets are the betting favorites to land him, per NBACentral.
The Houston Rockets are the favorites to land Devin Booker in a potential trade, per @BovadaOfficial
Houston Rockets -200
San Antonio Spurs +250
Golden State Warriors +950
Atlanta Hawks +950
Detroit Pistons +1500 pic.twitter.com/intrCsUgjo— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 16, 2025
As was the case last season, Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal haven’t often been healthy at the same time, but it now looks like the Suns’ problems run deeper than their three stars’ inability to stay healthy.
They started the season 8-1 and looked like they were growing into championship contenders, but they have had multiple losing streaks since, and it is looking like all the draft capital they traded to acquire Durant and Beal will end up going to waste.
Booker is averaging 25.2 points and 6.9 assists a game this season, but he is shooting just 44.0 percent from the field, which is well below par for him.
The hot rumor is that Phoenix would like to acquire Jimmy Butler, who wants the Miami Heat to trade him, but it remains to be seen if the two teams can reach an agreement that would send Butler to the Valley of the Sun.
