Suns Notes: Booker, Draft, Canaan, Coaching Candidates

The question of whether to give Devin Booker a maximum extension is easy, but convincing him to wait another year may not be, writes Bobby Marks of ESPN. Booker will be eligible for an $157MM extension this summer that would start his annual salary at about $27MM. However, there are benefits for the Suns in waiting for 2019, and they have to convince Booker it’s best for him as well.

Because Booker wasn’t drafted in the top 10 in 2015, he would have a $9.9MM cap hold next summer, roughly $17MM less than his salary under an extension. Phoenix has the potential to be a player in the 2019 free agent market, with roughly $35MM to $40MM available once contracts expire for Tyson Chandler and Chris Dudley. However, if Booker insists on an extension this year, that number would be cut roughly in half.

Marks recommends negotiating with Booker as though he were a free agent the Suns are trying to recruit. He says GM Ryan McDonough and his team should present a salary-cap breakdown and a list of potential 2019 free agent signees to Booker’s representatives, explaining why it’s in his long-term interests to have the best possible teammates around him.

There’s more this morning out of Phoenix:

  • The Suns should explore moving up in the draft to make sure they can fill their two greatest needs, Marks adds in the same piece. With Phoenix holding the top spot in our latest Reverse Standings, the franchise is in good position to land a center early in the draft. With first-rounders also coming from Miami and Milwaukee, Marks believes the team should package its assets and try to get another pick in the top 10 to grab a point guard, possibly Alabama’s Collin Sexton.
  • Isaiah Canaan is making rapid progress in his recovery from a dislocated left ankle, according to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. Canaan, who signed with Phoenix in mid-December, played just 19 games before suffering the season-ending injury January 31. He has progressed past crutches and an ankle boot and hopes to be fully recovered in time for training camp in September. “I’m at home sitting around and thinking, ‘Wow, just two months ago I had two right feet and now I’m walking around doing strength training,’” Canaan said. “Obviously all the strength is not there yet but I’m feeling fine.”
  • In a separate story, Bordow lists David Fizdale, Jason Kidd and Villanova’s Jay Wright as potential candidates to be the Suns’ next coach.
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