Suns Superstar Devin Booker Continues To Be Disrespected by NBA World

Superstar shooting guard Devin Booker has been no stranger to criticism since entering the NBA with the Phoenix Suns in 2015.

Criticism has expanded from labeling Booker as an "empty stats" player, to calling his approach to the game "soft" - this is just the tip of the iceberg. 

The disrespect continued early this week, when Sam Quinn of CBS Sports brought the player comparison card into his evaluation of Booker's four-year contract that he currently holds with the Suns.

Not only did Quinn label Booker as the sixth worst contract in the NBA, he also directly compared the five-time All-Star to fellow shooting guard Donovan Mitchell to get his point across.

"Booker's supermax deal has one fewer season than Mitchell's, but he's a level below Mitchell as a player. He's a low-end All-Star at best at this point, and probably a shade worse. His 3-point shooting has been declining for a few years now, and so much of what worked last season relied on an outlier free-throw rate." 

While Mitchell has likely had a better three-year running average as a player, it's quite a bold statement to say that the Cleveland Cavalier is a different caliber of player. Labeling Booker as a "sub All-Star" is even more bold. 

Booker is coming off of a less efficient season as a scorer compared to what he typically puts forward. However, he raised the floor of a Suns team that was projected to scrap just to reach 30 victories. If Booker isn't worth his future contract value, then his elite metric profile as a playmaker should be discounted. Booker has elevated three-point shooters including breakout player Collin Gillespie over the last two seasons, and this notion supported by virtually everything.

The 6'5" guard has seen a downtick in three-point efficiency in recent seasons, but he isn't far away from once again reaching an above-average clip from range. Just 15 three-point knockdowns separated Booker from being a 33% and 36% shooter. This can be remedied by the Kentucky product working on taking more spot-up opportunities, while ticking down on pull-up looks in response.

All in all, Booker remains one of the most scrutinized players in the NBA heading into his age-30 season, but a large fraction of the downplaying is completely unwarranted. The two-time All-NBA selection is fully equipped to return to the scorer he was previously under the backdrop of a revitalized roster.