On Wednesday, the Phoenix Suns officially announced a new, multi-year Devin Booker contract extension. While the amount was undisclosed, ESPN’s Shams Charania had reported on Tuesday evening that the Suns would be tacking on an extra two years and $145 million on his contract.

Booker was already owed $171.2 million over the next three years, but this deal would extend his commitment to Phoenix — and vice-versa — through the 2029-30 season.

“This moment means so much to me and my family,” Booker said in a statement. “Ten years ago, my NBA dreams became reality when I was drafted here and Phoenix is my home. I love this city and am proud of what we have accomplished throughout my decade here. I am grateful to Mat Ishbia and the entire Phoenix Suns organization for the partnership. Thank you fans for your loyalty and support. More to come!!”

Addressing the reaction to the Devin Booker contract extension

A story like this probably should’ve prompted a simple, “Good for him!” in response before everyone quickly moved on. Instead, it became the latest round of people who have been wrong about Booker since 2015 dumping on him and the Suns with bad-faith arguments.

Make no mistake about it: Phoenix is in a tough spot. Their high hopes for the Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal era ended this summer, with a demoralizing trade and a likely waive-and-stretch, respectively. Booker will turn 29 before the upcoming season, and while the Suns fully committed to their vision of getting younger, more athletic and more defensive-minded, they’ll be taking a step backward this year in order to start moving forward again.

But it seems all of this overshadowed what should’ve been a happy, straightforward, very predictable development, and the resulting talking points were grating.

$75 million a year for Devin Booker?

Devin Booker is overrated and overpaid.

Why would the Suns commit so much money to a player like this?

We could talk about how the whole “biggest annual contract in NBA history thing” won’t last very long, and certainly not until 2029 when it actually kicks in. We could remind everyone (in vain) that evaluating contracts by annual average value instead of as a percentage of the salary cap is foolish. And for those still hung up on that gaudy, $75 million salary for the final year of the extension, we could mention that it could come in at a lower amount, depending on what the salary cap looks like 3-4 years from now.

But since so many people want to wallow in the doom and gloom, let’s address that first. There are understandable concerns with a contract like this! One includes the possibility of Booker’s contract, plus the potential dead money from a Bradley Beal waive-and-stretch situation, accounting for 45 percent of Phoenix’s cap space for the next half-decade.

Still, it’s worth reminding everyone that teams typically spend well beyond 100 percent of the cap, because it’s not a hard cap. What matters is the second tax apron, and while the Suns will be challenged to get back to championship contention without much wiggle room, the concern over that 45 percent commitment should lie with the costly Beal trade, not Booker or his well-deserved extension. Because looking at the body of work, Booker is absolutely the type of player who is worth the investment.

Not only is he the franchise’s all-time leading scorer before the age of 30, but he’s one of just six players in the league with 10 years of experience with a single team. He’s going to be at the top or near the top of nearly every statistical leaderboard in franchise history by the time he’s done, and he led the Suns to only their third NBA Finals appearance and their best regular season, when they won 64 games. He’s first in Suns history in points, first in made 3s and fourth in assists.

It’s not like Booker is just racking up franchise records playing for some scrub franchise either. He holds the league scoring record for four different NBA arenas. He’s a four-time All-Star who probably should have more appearances to his name, a two-time All-NBA selection, and a two-time gold medalist. He routinely finds himself in rare company, despite how often his production is dismissed as “empty calories” because he spent the first half of his career surrounded by G Leaguers:

Take a look around the league at the longest-tenured stars who are still with the franchise that originally drafted them. How many of those players would see their fanbases revolt if they were traded? The list is Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, and….that’s probably it? Guys like Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama, Paolo Banchero, Cade Cunningham, Cooper Flagg and a few others will undoubtedly reach that level in time, but the potential vitriol from the fanbase if any of those first five guys were traded against their will? They belong in their own stratosphere.

The front office is aware of this bond, and like it or not, that’s part of the calculus. If the Suns hadn’t extended Booker now, they’d risk sending a subliminal message that alienated the last lifeline they have to this fanbase’s trust and support. Even if Phoenix did resist the idea of extending him, Book would’ve had all the leverage. The Suns’ aggressive approach fell flat on its face, and in the process, they had to trade away Booker’s close teammate and fellow superstar in Kevin Durant. So yeah, it’s no wonder the Suns gave him an extension at the first available opportunity, reasserting their commitment to him and consulting him on the team’s coaching hire.

But the best part is, these moves aren’t made out of fear of alienating Booker, or the franchise star threatening to walk; they’re made in genuine appreciation of each other, despite the daunting task that’s now in front of them. Owner Mat Ishbia’s statement from Phoenix’s press release sounds like typical front office speak, but it’s also telling for those willing to listen, who haven’t already made up their minds about Book and the Suns.

“Devin Booker is the embodiment of the Phoenix Suns, representing the best of our organization, our community and our future,” Ishbia said. “As the team’s all-time leading scorer, his on-court achievements are unparalleled and the result of his relentless preparation and unwavering pursuit of excellence. His character, leadership and ‘I’ll do it’ mentality define the standards and culture we uphold. Moreover, his connection with our fans is unique – his impact resonates across the Valley, and his tireless efforts in supporting Arizona’s youth and families reflect the deep community bond we cherish.”

And this is the part where we remind everyone of Booker’s value to the community, as someone who embraced the Valley from day one and saw it embrace him in return. The most obvious example is the Devin Booker Starting Five initiative, which has contributed $2.5 million over a five-year span to support local nonprofits and funded 25 grants to support children and families in need across Arizona.

Of course, the average NBA “fan” doesn’t care about this. They care about results. Stats. Wins. Championships. Nothing else matters through that lens, and it’s undeniable that both Booker and the Suns are at a potential crossroads. The Suns need a bounce-back season from the face of their franchise, and Booker needs Phoenix to nail the moves to come in order to put the right pieces around him if he ever wants to sniff the Finals again as a Sun.

But this is where the conversation needs to shift. Because even if Devin Booker rides out his entire career in Phoenix, fails to ever win a title and the Suns then have to undergo another rebuild in the post-Booker era…so what? It’s no secret that winning a title is the No. 1 priority for this fanbase, and for a lot of people, that makes Book expendable if it gets them closer to that goal. But it’s funny how loyalty seems to only be a one-way street: Fans expect their favorite players to be loyal and elite at what they do, but the minute either one of those things changes, they become chopped liver.

And to that point, the way that some Suns fans — and NBA fans in general — consume this sport often misses the forest for the trees. Call it naive, call it sentimental, call it whatever you want, but if the joy of watching Suns basketball was based only on winning championships, nobody would still be watching a team that’s failed to win a single title in almost 60 years of existence.

There has to be a middle ground between “The Suns finally won it all, I can officially enjoy them now” and the more common result of falling short.

There has to be an appreciation for the “good ol’ days” before they’re gone.

And there has to be acknowledgement of the joy that we derive from watching Devin Booker play — from that magical 2021 Finals run, from the Suns going 8-0 in the NBA Bubble, from Book’s infamous game-winner against the Clippers, from Book dunking on Anthony Davis, from the 64-win season, from the baby fist bump, from the infamous Devin Booker floor pose, from every good moment that has made his bond with this city so strong and won over a whole new generation of Suns fans.

None of this is meant to relieve or downplay the pressure that comes with this latest Devin Booker contract extension. Getting paid like a max-level superstar through his age-33 season comes with the expectation that he’ll bounce back from a down season, that he’ll go back to being the alpha that Phoenix needs, and that he’ll eventually lead the Suns to the promised land to cement his place as the greatest player in franchise history.

But that pressure already existed. It’s nothing new for a guy who’s repeatedly talked about wanting to assemble a super-team in Phoenix, about wanting to win here in the Valley, about wanting to spend his entire career with one organization like Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan.

The obvious separator is those guys won titles, which Booker has yet to accomplish. With Book turning 29 before the start of next season, the clock is ticking on his prime. It’s perfectly reasonable to doubt whether it ever happens in Phoenix, especially now that the Suns find themselves in the predicament of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and a pile of draft picks leaving. This front office will have its hands full in trying to quickly get this thing back on the rails before Book’s prime is done.

But for the sizable contingent of NBA fans and even Suns fans who blasted this Devin Booker contract extension, asserting that it essentially dooms the organization to never being able to win titles with Book, I again have to ask: Even in the worst-case scenario where that comes to fruition…is that really all that matters? Is the business of being a Suns fan so soulless now that trading the face of the franchise against his will is somehow better than rewarding the loyalty of a star who’s given everything to this organization?

Players talk, and that type of move would doom the Suns’ reputation with free agents and sever the fanbase’s trust in ownership. But there’s also the indisputable fact that this can’t all be meaningless without a championship to validate the highs and lows of watching Devin Booker’s Suns play. If that were the case, we’d never look back on the days of Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Charles Barkley and all the other Suns greats with such fondness.

And that’s kind of the point: Because the public discourse get so fixated on “RINGZZZ,” and because this fanbase has had to wait so long for that elusive first championship, we often forget to live in the moment — especially when a season ultimately ends in failure or heartbreak. We find ourselves incapable of fully appreciating the current era of basketball, always looking for the next best thing until we look back and realize how great things were before.

There’s no denying that last year sucked. It was as far away from “enjoyable basketball” as possible, which was especially disappointing for a team with such lofty expectations. But even with all these monumental offseason changes that waved the white flag on a disappointing chapter of Suns history, there’s zero doubt that this has been and will continue to be the Devin Booker era. And much like the Steve Nash era and the Charles Barkley era, there’s a whole new generation of Suns fans who fell in love with this team and this sport from watching Book play, regardless of whether he brought them to the promised land or not.

You can call it a sentimental view, but who is anyone to tell those fans that all of those memories, all of those buckets, and all of those accolades are actually meaningless without a ring? Obviously Suns fans want it to happen so Book can stamp himself as the greatest Sun ever, and it’ll sting like hell if it never happens, just like it did with Nash and Barkley.

But to turn tail ahead of time, right when things get hard? Blowing it up is easy. Justifying it under the guise of “doing Book a favor” so he can contend somewhere else is even easier. But people’s fascination with rebuilds, draft picks, and the ever-tantalizing “mystery box” shouldn’t be valued more than the rare type of connection that someone like Devin Booker has with this organization, this fanbase and this city. Booker — and our own ability to appreciate what makes this sport beautiful — deserves more than that.

The sad truth is, 29 teams’ seasons end in failure every year. Based on that math alone, there’s a strong probability Booker never wins a championship in Phoenix. But punting on that possibility prematurely — however remote it may seem — would be cowardice, not prudence. Losing the face of a franchise is a painful experience, and even if the day ultimately comes where Book asks out and the Suns get very little return for him in a trade, they’ve already gotten their money’s worth, with or without a Larry O’Brien trophy.

Because that’s an unwritten, difficult, beautiful part of the covenant between sports fans and the teams they root for: The knowledge that, at any given moment, that team can break your heart or lift you to indescribable highs. It’s the rise and fall between exhilaration and defeat; the day-to-day vacillation between joy and trauma. You don’t get one without the other.

Suns fans have yet to feel that triumphant feeling of reaching the NBA mountaintop, so the tunnel vision on that ultimate goal is understandable. But it shouldn’t come at the expense of someone who’s given everything to this franchise in pursuit of that same goal; who’s endured so many shitty teams, coaching changes and roster tweaks it’s a wonder he was able to improve year-over-year until he became a household name; who’s still in his prime and still wants to be here. That loyalty matters, and while few outside of Phoenix will ever understand it, that type of connection is rare, and it should be celebrated.