The Phoenix Suns got off to a surprising start in free agency by nabbing Trevor Ariza shortly after midnight on Sunday morning. Ariza signed a 1-year deal with the Suns in one move not many saw coming.
Getting Ariza, even only temporarily, makes a young Suns team an intriuging one if they can manage to sign Devin Booker to an extension to pair him with top draft pick DeAndre Ayton and the rest of the 2018 draft class. But apparently getting Booker to sign that deal may be complicated.
Yahoo’s Shams Charinaia reported on Sunday that Booker is “upset” with the Suns after they moved on from Tyler Ulis, who Charania noted is Booker’s best friend on the team.
Sources: As he becomes eligible for five-year maximum rookie extension, Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker is upset with the front office over release of best friend Tyler Ulis, who started 43 games last season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2018
The Suns waived Ulis on Saturday, a player who Booker has been close with since they played together as freshman at Kentucky in 2014. The two met as eighth graders and have been close ever since. Ulis was drafted by Phoenix in the second round of the 2016 Draft, taken 34th overall, and Booker actually helped convince the Suns to take Ulis, so he’s clearly invested in his career.
Though he and Booker were obviously close, Ulis never developed into a consistent scoring threat with the team, averaging 7.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists last season. The Suns clearly made a business decision here in a period of the year that’s ripe with them, but Booker might not be so understanding.
Booker has one year and a qualifying offer left on his rookie deal, so there’s still time to smooth things out between himself and the franchise. But friendship is apparently a valuable asset in the NBA these days, as is a player’s flexibility to stay mobile in an NBA landscape that’s constantly changing. If Booker decides to value that flexibility, he might be gone from Phoenix sooner rather than later.
