SUNS

Devin Booker praises Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia's response to Kevin Durant trade rumors

Portrait of Jeremy Cluff Jeremy Cluff
Arizona Republic

The Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker had some words of praise for how Mat Ishbia handled the trade rumors surrounding Kevin Durant while at Team USA minicamp on Sunday in Las Vegas. He also expressed confidence in the upcoming season.

“Never seen an owner do something like that before,” Booker told Arizona Sports about Ishbia's post on X last month in response to trade speculation regarding Durant, Booker's teammate.  “It just shows you what type of guy Mat is. He’s all in to the group that we have. We believe in the group that we have and the talent that we have.”

On June 26, amid speculation that the Suns could be looking to trade Durant, Ishbia posted the following message:

"NBA Draft night is the best. Everyone talking about the drama and storylines, some are right and some are just wrong. My turn. Phoenix loves Kevin Durant and Kevin Durant loves Phoenix, and we are competing for a championship this year because we have the team to do it. Gotta love draft night! Go Suns."

Read more:Suns have NBA's highest team payroll with Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker

Kevin Durant trade rumors are nothing new for Phoenix Suns

Ishbia's post came in response to the latest round of speculation involving Durant, which included a June 25 post from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski linking Durant to the Houston Rockets.

Durant addressed the trade rumors recently, telling Yahoo Sports that there was a "button" that drove speculation about him.

“Yes, there’s for sure a button. What else is gonna get people around this time besides ‘The journeyman is leaving again.’ That storyline is always gonna hit the people. That’s why they see the alerts on ESPN on your phone. ‘Oh, KD’s thinking about leaving.’ That’s how big that story is, which is wack.”

Read more:Phoenix Suns' Kevin Durant responds to trade rumors

The Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker had some words of praise for how Mat Ishbia handled trade rumors regarding Kevin Durant.

Devin Booker high on Suns in 2024-25: 'Experience is the best teacher'

Booker expressed optimism that the Suns could be in for a special season after keeping their core together in free agency, mentioning how the Boston Celtics benefitted from staying together on their way to the 2024 NBA title.

“Yeah, you gotta do it,” Booker said of Phoenix's offseason strategy, via Arizona Sports. “Boston went through it. Obviously the addition of Jrue (Holiday) helps out a lot. Moving forward, you live and you learn. I think experience is the best teacher.”

Booker and Durant are currently preparing to play in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games for the U.S. men's national basketball team. Competition begins later this month.

He's not leaving:Kevin Durant torches fan who asks him to leave Phoenix Suns for Oklahoma City Thunder

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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