NBA Rumors: Nets Could Be ‘Team To Watch’ Among Devin Booker’s Potential Trade Suitors, Per ‘Complex’
A new report hinted that the Brooklyn Nets could be among the more likely teams to make a move for Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker during the 2020 offseason.
As speculated by Complex in a list of star players that could be traded ahead of the 2020-21 NBA season, it’s likely that the Suns will want to hang on to Booker, who has averaged at least 22 points per game in four of his five seasons in the league. On the other hand, the outlet cautioned that he might be the next “disgruntled” superstar who might ask to be traded to a winning organization.
Talking about Booker’s most likely destinations, the Minnesota Timberwolves were mentioned as the most likely landing spot, considering that he is good friends with the team’s two top players, center Karl-Anthony Towns and point guard D’Angelo Russell. Complex wrote that the three had previously “proclaimed their desire to all play together” in the future, thus making Minnesota a top suitor during the coming offseason. However, the publication also suggested that the Nets could be a “team to watch” as they could add even more offensive firepower to their roster by trading for Booker.
“They still have assets to add a third star to [Kevin] Durant and [Kyrie] Irving, and Booker could make some sense as additional scoring,” the outlet added.
As shown on his Basketball-Reference player page, Booker has averaged 26.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.6 assists and shot 48.7 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range in the 2019-20 campaign. However, the first-time All-Star has yet to make the postseason since Phoenix drafted him in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft. The Suns (26-39, 13th in the Western Conference) are considered long shots to make this year’s playoffs despite the fact they were among the 22 teams to qualify for this month’s season restart.
The idea of Brooklyn forming a “big three” by adding a third superstar player is nothing new. With Durant and Irving joining the organization during the 2019 free agency period, some of the Nets’ other key rotation players — particularly younger stars such as guards Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert and center Jarrett Allen — have been brought up in recent weeks as potential trade bait.
Booker isn’t the only possible acquisition that Brooklyn could pursue in the lead-up to the 2020-21 campaign. Another high-scoring shooting guard — Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards — has frequently been linked to the team, with at least one trade rumor suggesting that he could be acquired for a trade package that includes Dinwiddie, LeVert, and Allen.
