"He is going to lead us to a championship here in Phoenix" - Mat Ishbia shut down Devin Booker trade talks with a bold declaration
The Phoenix Suns did better this season without Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal , winning nine more games and making the playoffs, albeit just taking the 8th seed in the Western Conference. The Suns went on to get swept by the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder , in a one-sided first-round playoff series.
Barring any monumental move this offseason, the current Suns team is good enough to make the playoffs but isn't good enough to contend for a title. Because of that, many see them at a crossroads, with some saying that trading Devin Booker and starting all over could be their best option moving forward. But not team owner Mat Ishbia , who told reporters on Thursday that Booker isn't going anywhere.
"He is going to lead us to a championship here in Phoenix," said Ishbia. "That's what he's gonna do. And we're gonna build the right team around him. He's gonna get better, just like I'm gonna get better, just like everyone's gonna get better in our organization. At the same time, Devin Booker is who we want here. He is great for the city, great for the community."
"I'll ride into a fire with Devin Booker, and I'll do it proudly. And we're gonna go anytime. And he's gonna have my back, I'm gonna have his back. Devin Booker is our guy," he added.
The Suns had their chance with Booker in 2021
In a league where franchise superstars like Luka Doncic and Trae Young got traded in the blink of an eye, Ishbia is speaking a different language. While the Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks dealt their beloved franchise superstars because they want to win a championship, Ishbia is putting a premium on Booker's loyalty and his value to the community over winning.
Not saying that Booker isn't a franchise-type player because he is. But although he is coming off a season where he averaged 26.4 points and 6.0 assists per game, we've seen him have better campaigns, and the Suns have not won a championship.
One of those years actually saw the Suns not only make the NBA Finals but move to within two games of winning the first Larry O'Brien trophy in franchise history.
However, Booker and his crew blew a 2-1 series lead to the Milwaukee Bucks , who ended up winning it all in 2021. To many, that was their chance, and they blew it. But to Ishbia, D-Book can still bring them to the promised land, and trade talks are just the product of the media's vivid imagination.
"The national media…just say stuff to say stuff sometimes, and people say something. Sometimes I like to respond. Sometimes I don't because it's ridiculous. But Devin Booker's not getting traded. Devin Booker's our franchise player, and like I said, we're gonna win a championship with Devin Booker, and I'm excited to do it, and I'm excited to be next to him when we do that," Ishbia reiterated.
Pierce recently floated a D-Book to Detroit trade
It's unclear which report ticked off Ishbia enough to prompt a response. But earlier this week, it was ESPN's Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins who floated the idea on "First Take" while Hall of Famer Paul Pierce mentioned it a couple of days later during an episode of his "No Fouls Given" podcast.
"Booker's gonna be a prime target for a trade, I bet you this summer," said Pierce.
Ishbia is a very successful businessman, and people like him value their company's human resources above all other assets. That could be the kind of attitude that he wants to show here. However, this isn't finance, where you invest in employees in the long term. NBA teams operate on short windows, and the window for the D-Book era might have closed after 2021. It's Ishbia's call, because it's his money after all.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
