Early Friday morning, there was more fuel added to the Phoenix Suns fire. One NBA rumor suggested that Mike Budenholzer had a one-on-one message for Devin Booker. Unfortunately, that message wasn’t received too well by the Suns star. It was reported that the head coach asked the shooting guard to tone down being vocal.
It shocked Booker and was something that he didn’t expect. After all, he is one of the most vocal players in the league. It isn’t only within trash-talk. It’s within team huddles, talking to the coaches in a timeout, as well as calling specific plays. The message was manifested before Thursday’s game, for sure.
Booker’s body language proved that he was trying to please his head coach. Once the report came out, questions were filed toward Budenholzer. The Suns head coach refuted the shocking report.
“His communication is awesome,” Booker said. “There are conversations that Devin and I have all the time, and I’m good with those conversations. We don’t always agree on everything. I think he actually appreciates it.”
Communication has been Booker’s bread and butter. He’s echoed the point all season long regarding how important communication is. Still, the report left the Phoenix star a bit disgruntled. As a result, Booker dropped a cryptic message following the Suns 3-game skid.
Mike Budenholzer appreciates Suns’ Devin Booker
Although both Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant are part of Phoenix’s squad, the team is Booker’s. He is the franchise player and has been there since the franchise drafted him in 2015. Unfortunately, though, he’s gone through a carousel of head coaches. Within the past three seasons, he’s had three head coaches.
Monty Williams, Frank Vogel, and now Budenholzer. When the Suns hired the latter, it was thought to be a genius move. An offensive mastermind with an elite scorer and playmaker like Booker seemed to be a match made in heaven. However, the past few weeks have been anything but that.
Phoenix is 1-4 coming out of the All-Star break and has the toughest remaining schedule in the league. Not to mention, telling your franchise player to “tone it down vocally” isn’t necessarily a positive look. The team is struggling defensively, and offensively, they aren’t much better than they were last season.
The offensive ratings and points per game are nearly the same, while the defense is night and day different. The Suns have the third-worst defensive rating in the league. Production isn’t there to support a decision like this.
Either way, the head coach has made it clear that he supports Booker and his style. Whether that is factual or not, remains to be questioned and speculated.
The post Suns’ Mike Budenholzer responds to shocking Devin Booker report appeared first on ClutchPoints.
