Should Devin Booker try to leave the Suns for greener pastures?

In the immediate aftermath of a decisive four-game sweep at the hands of the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, Devin Booker doesn't necessarily deserve the benefit of the doubt.

By his standards as one of the NBA's top scorers, the perennial All-Star was pretty uninspiring in the series. Booker shot just 46 percent from the field while only making 5-of-18 from behind the 3-point line. With the Suns already such a massive underdog against the heavyweight Thunder, Booker's performance simply isn't going to cut it. Phoenix needs more from its long-time franchise player.

At the same time, is it really Booker's fault he's mired on a Suns team with so little help surrounding him? Booker deserves credit for even dragging an effort-based Phoenix squad with limited talent and depth to the postseason.

Which makes me wonder. Should the star shooting guard be trying to find a way off the Suns this summer? He's already given Phoenix so much over his 11-year career. He stuck with them through a dark period in the late 2010s, where they never won more than 34 games. He became their talisman on a team that reached the 2021 NBA Finals. Now, he's working with them during a period of transition and retooling as they dust themselves off after the recent Kevin Durant era.

Booker has given so much to the Suns over the years, and they have helped him with his development. For now, he seems content with their current direction:

But Booker's also not getting any younger, with over a decade of NBA experience under his belt. He will be 30 by around the start of the next NBA season. I do think there's a reality where Booker tries to pressure the mostly hopeless Suns into doing more to win now, so they have a better chance of competing with teams like the Thunder. Unfortunately, unless Phoenix does something drastic like acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo somehow, there isn't an easy path for the franchise to do something like that.