Suns owner quashes Devin Booker trade talk, will go down with the ship if he has to

The Phoenix Suns are at a crossroads.

Sure, they earned a surprising playoff berth in the 2026 NBA Playoffs. But they were quickly swept out of said postseason by the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder in a very convincing fashion. Barring some sort of monumental superstar addition through free agency, a trade, or the NBA Draft, Phoenix likely won't become a bona fide championship contender any time soon. It seems destined to tread water like this for the foreseeable future.

That brings into question the long-term future of long-time Suns icon Devin Booker. On the one hand, the 29-year-old Booker has never expressed any real desire to leave Phoenix. No matter what happens the rest of the way, he appears content to finish his career as a one-team superstar, a novelty we see less and less of in the modern NBA.

On the other hand, trading Booker might be the only recourse for the Suns to start over and see if they can actually build a title-caliber team in the near future. A trade might also be the only way for Booker himself to compete for a title before he hangs up his sneakers.

For both Booker and the Suns, it's probably a very tough pill to swallow.

Well, not for Suns owner Mat Ishbia apparently. On Thursday, Ishbia acknowledged the conversation around a possible Booker trade down the line. And? He quickly quashed it, saying he'd "ride into a fire with Devin Booker" before he ever considered trading him. Hmm, I don't know if I believe that.

Circumstances like this have a way of changing much faster than you would ever expect in the NBA.

To be clear, I do believe Ishbia about this trade sentiment in the here and now. I do believe he thinks the Suns can contend again with Booker as their franchise talisman. And I do believe he really doesn't want to trade someone as beloved to the Suns as Booker.