Devin Booker Out At Least One Week With Groin Strain
Suns guard Devin Booker will be reevaluated in one week after being diagnosed with a right groin strain, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
Booker, who sustained the injury on Monday vs. the Lakers, will miss games against Houston on Friday and Minnesota next Monday, with next Wednesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal in Oklahoma City looking like his earliest possible return date.
Even if Booker isn’t ready to return in seven days, this outcome appears to be a “best case” for the Suns, according to Charania, who suggests the star guard’s injury isn’t a significant one.
Booker, 29, has been the top scorer for a surprisingly competitive Suns team this fall, averaging 25.0 points, 6.7 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in 34.7 minutes per game through his first 22 outings. Phoenix was expected to take a step back this season after trading Kevin Durant and buying out Bradley Beal over the summer, but the club is off to a 13-9 start, with Booker leading the way.
The Suns’ backcourt depth will be tested with Booker sidelined for multiple games. The team is also still without Jalen Green, who has missed most of the season due to hamstring issues.
However, Phoenix did get Ryan Dunn back on Monday after he missed five games with a sprained wrist. And while Grayson Allen sat out on Monday due to an illness, he had returned to action on Saturday following a seven-game absence due to a quad injury. Assuming they’re healthy, Dunn and Allen figure to play key roles for the Suns in the next week, along with guards Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin, and perhaps Jamaree Bouyea, who logged a season-high 23 minutes on Monday.
Devin Booker, Jamal Murray Exit Monday’s Games With Injuries
A pair of star players were injured during separate games on Monday, with Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray exiting an eventual loss to Dallas with a right ankle sprain, while Suns shooting guard Devin Booker sustained a right groin injury in the road contest at the Lakers (Twitter links via the Nuggets and Dave McMenamin of ESPN).
Murray, who is a candidate to make his first All-Star appearance this season, was deemed questionable to return Monday but didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter. The Nuggets were up two points entering the final frame and wound up losing by 10 without their second-leading scorer.
It’s unclear if Murray will miss additional time with his ankle injury. Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. will likely receive more minutes if the Canadian guard is ruled out of future games.
Denver is fairly banged up right now, with starters Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun out multiple weeks due to their own injuries and third-year wing Julian Strawther continuing to miss time with a back issue.
As for Booker, he was ruled out at halftime of the game in Los Angeles. According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), all the Suns know so far is the four-time All-Star experienced soreness in his groin.
Phoenix’s all-time leading scorer has yet to miss a game in 2025/26 after making 75 appearances last season. Through 21 games, the 29-year-old is averaging team highs of 25.7 points and 6.9 assists while also contributing 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 steal per night.
Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin, and Jamaree Bouyea are among the Suns who could take on additional play-making duties with Booker out at least the remainder of Monday’s game.
The Suns are also shorthanded, as Jalen Green continues to be sidelined with a hamstring strain he has aggravated multiple times. Second-year forward Ryan Dunn did return to action on Monday after missing the past five games with a sprained right wrist, though Grayson Allen was ruled out with an illness.
Pacific Notes: Perry, DeRozan, Booker, Durant, Goodwin, Paul
The Kings are in a familiar place, sitting near the bottom of the Western Conference standings after a 4-13 start. New general manager Scott Perry is preaching something that fans in Sacramento have heard for many years — be patient.
“I totally understand their frustrations to this point,” Perry told Sam Amick of The Athletic. “It hasn’t been what they wanted. But again, it’s the old saying that Rome wasn’t built in a day — and that’s a fact. If you look at a number of the top teams in the league, they all went through a very tough stretch when they were trying to lay a foundation and create an environment that led to sustainable winning. … All I’ve ever asked from the very beginning is just: buckle up, be patient for the ride. We definitely have a plan in place, and we’ll do this thing together.”
Complicating Perry’s mission is the fact that six high-salary players are signed through next season. The highest of the 2026/27 salaries, Zach LaVine‘s $49MM, is a player option and there’s no clarity as to whether he’ll pick it up, according to Amick. The Clippers have shown some interest in the oldest player on the Kings’ roster, DeMar DeRozan, per Amick. He has a partial guarantee ($10MM) on his $25.7MM contract for next season.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Kevin Durant will miss the Rockets’ game at Phoenix tonight due to a family matter. Suns guard Devin Booker is disappointed he won’t get to face his former teammate, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. “I hope everything is OK with his family first, but yeah, I would love a matchup with him,” Booker said.
- Jordan Goodwin won a training camp battle to earn a roster spot after being claimed off waivers by the Suns. Goodwin has been a steady contributor off the bench, averaging 7.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. “He just has a knack not only on offensive rebounds, but deflections. Any type of loose balls. Just has a hunger to get the basketball. That’s part of who he is, that’s part of what made him and that’s part of why we love him,” coach Jordan Ott said, per Rankin (Twitter link).
- Chris Paul evokes a wide range of reaction but The Athletic’s Zach Harper lays out his case of why the Clippers guard should be appreciated by NBA fans. The 12-time All-Star is retiring after the season.
Suns Notes: Ighodaro, Booker, Brooks, Allen
Oso Ighodaro put his name in the Suns’ record book Thursday night by posting a plus-52 in a win over Indiana, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The second-year big man put up the gaudy number in 26 minutes off the bench as Phoenix pulled away and led by as many as 46 points.
“I thought it was a typo,” coach Jordan Ott said as Ighodaro recorded the highest single-game plus-minus rating in franchise history and the third best in the NBA’s play-by-play era. He finished with a career-high 17 points, along with seven rebounds, three assists and a career-best three steals.
“Felt like I was going after winning,” Ighodaro said. “That’s been my focus the last four, five games. Not worrying about stats. Not worrying about anything like that. Just trying to impact the game in a positive way.”
There’s more from Phoenix:
- The Suns are one of the league’s early-season surprises at 8-5, but the schedule has been somewhat grueling with 13 games in 23 days, Rankin adds in the same piece. Devin Booker, who posted his seventh 30-point game of the season on Thursday, admits he was feeling worn down, but he got a lift from his teammates. “It’s been tough,” Booker said. “I know I didn’t have a lot of juice coming in, but I was looking around the locker room and everybody was ready to go. Kind of revived me.”
- Dillon Brooks, who has helped to spark the Suns’ revival after arriving in an offseason trade, was asked after the game about the last time he hasn’t felt confident on the court. He pointed to a 2023 playoff series against the Lakers when he was still with the Grizzlies, Rankin tweets. “I couldn’t shoot the ball. The GM (Zach Kleiman) is telling me to only shoot six shots,” Brooks recalled. “Not giving me the confidence I needed and you can feel that energy coming from front office and coaches. Never the players, the players want to win, but you feel that energy. Even if you’re working and put in the time, it’s not falling. Probably that was the last time.”
- Ott is getting the most out of Grayson Allen by trusting him as a ball-handler, observes Fred Katz of The Athletic. He notes that Allen had already run 160 pick-and-rolls this season going into Thursday’s game, which is already more than halfway to his previous career high. He’s also averaging 3.2 pull-up three-point attempts per game and is sinking 45% of them.
Cade Cunningham, Nikola Jokic Named Players Of Week
Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, while Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been chosen as the Western Conference Player of the Week, according to the NBA (Twitter links).
Cunningham led Detroit to four consecutive wins during the week of November 3-9 while averaging 31.0 points and 9.8 assists per game on 54.7% shooting. This marks the second time in his career that Cunningham has received a Player of the Week award.
Jokic also led his team to a 4-0 week, with home victories over Sacramento, Miami, Golden State, and Indiana. The three-time MVP averaged a triple-double, with 31.3 points, 13.3 assists, and 11.3 rebounds per contest. His biggest game of the week came last Wednesday against the Heat, when he racked up 33 points, 16 assists, 15 rebounds, and three steals.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), Jalen Duren (Pistons), Kon Knueppel (Hornets), Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), Norman Powell (Heat) and Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks) were the other Eastern Conference nominees.
Devin Booker (Suns), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Trey Murphy III (Pelicans), Julius Randle (Timberwolves) and Alperen Sengun (Rockets) were also nominated in the West.
Devin Booker Wants To Finish Career With Suns
The Suns are no longer considered a serious contender in the Western Conference following their failed big three experiment with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal joining forces with Devin Booker. Durant and Beal are now playing for the Rockets and Clippers, respectively.
Despite that, Booker is content to remain with the organization long-term, he told Nick Friedell of The Athletic. Booker believes there’s something special about an elite player remaining on the same team and playing in the same city throughout his career, as Stephen Curry is doing with the Warriors.
“I was adopted as an 18-year-old coming in,” Booker said of Phoenix before playing Curry’s Warriors in Golden State. “I was embraced through tough times, all the way to making a Finals run. The city watched me grow up. I enjoyed growing up in the city. I’m sure Steph can say a lot of similar things about this area.”
Booker, who is in his 11th season, can’t see Curry leaving the Warriors for the remainder of his career. Booker, who just turned 29, wants it that way with the Suns.
“I don’t think he’s going anywhere,” Booker said of Curry. “And I don’t think I am either.”
Contractually, Booker is tied to his organization. He signed a two-year extension this summer worth an estimated $145MM that runs through the end of the 2029/30 season.
Booker embraces his role of being the team leader and spokesman.
“It’s a lot of pride,” Booker said. “It’s a lot of responsibility. It’s something that I try to communicate to the young guys. Having those couple deep playoff runs, and just getting the city to become electric, is a feeling that I’m chasing, want to get back to.”
Pacific Notes: Knecht, Booker, Williams, Schröder
Lakers forward Dalton Knecht got off to a great start as a rookie last season, averaging 12.2 points per game and making 43.9% of his three-pointers in his first 19 outings. However, he averaged just 8.1 PPG and knocked down just 34.8% of his outside shots the rest of the way while struggling defensively.
As Dan Woike of The Athletic writes, a poor Summer League showing in which Knecht shot just 32.1% from the field and 23.7% on three-pointers further exacerbated the concerns that rival scouts and executives have about the 24-year-old, whose trade value has dipped in the past year.
While Knecht has been viewed as a prime trade chip for the Lakers – he was part of the package the team was prepared to give up in February for Mark Williams – sources who spoke to Woike don’t believe the Lakers would be able to extract value comparable to the No. 17 pick they used on him right now. The general consensus, Woike writes, is that he could return multiple second-rounders, or perhaps even a single second-rounder.
However, Knecht is in just the second season of his four-year rookie contract and should still have plenty of time – and opportunities – to work on making his game more well-rounded. Head coach JJ Redick remains optimistic about Knecht’s potential.
“I’m very confident (that) when he’s confident, he’s a high-level offensive player in the NBA,” Redick said last weekend. “It’s the other stuff that he’s got to just do and find that consistency in his defense, on being the low man, or boxing out, or crashing every time or sprinting back and actually talking in transition. When he’s doing those things, he’s an impact player.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:
- With Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal no longer in Phoenix, Devin Booker knows there’s more pressure on him to be the face of the Suns on and off the court, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays. “(I) think it’s a big responsibility for me to be a leader and continue being a leader and getting everybody on the same page so we can start this thing off the right way,” Booker said within a more extensive Q&A ahead of the team’s preseason games in China.
- New Suns center Mark Williams, who is entering a potential contract year and has dealt with injuries during his first three NBA seasons, was a high-risk, high-reward investment for Phoenix. Doug Haller of The Athletic takes a closer look at the bet the Suns made on Williams and what his ceiling might look like. “He could be one of the better rim protectors in the game, first of all,” former Hornets assistant Tyrone Corbin said. “He could get quicker at setting screens and just rolling to the rim really hard. He’s a threat at the rim always because he can catch the ball. He just has to get there a little quicker. … He’s smart. … He has the potential to be a pretty good starter and a reliable guy in the lane.”
- While the Kings made it an offseason priority to add an experienced point guard like Dennis Schröder in large part to organize the offense, head coach Doug Christie is also asking the 32-year-old to “set the tone” defensively with full-court ball pressure. Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee has the story on Christie’s defensive expectations for Schröder and the rest of the Kings.
Suns Notes: Williams, Booker, Baugh, Duke
Mark Williams is entering training camp with a new team for the first time in his career after being sent from the Hornets to the Suns this offseason. According to Duane Rankin of Arizona Republic, he’s looking to prove that Charlotte shouldn’t have traded him.
“Just to be where you’re wanted is always great,” Williams said at the Suns media day “To be here is exciting. Charlotte was ultimately where I was drafted to. There was a belief in me at some point, but once you trade me the first time, it was only a matter of time before I was gone. So I knew that was coming. I just intend to make them regret that decision every time I’m on the court.”
It initially looked like Williams would be traded to the Lakers at last year’s deadline in exchange for Dalton Knecht and a pick, but that deal fell through due to concerns about the big man’s physical. After averaging 12.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in his first three seasons, Williams is excited for his new opportunity in the final year of his rookie contract.
“He’s been with us every day since July 1,” Suns general manager Brian Gregory said. “His strength gains in the lower body have been off the charts. His work ethic on a daily basis, off the chart. His attitude, he understood where he was at and where he needed to get to and he’s worked every single day on that.”
Rankin writes that Williams is expected to start at center but will battle with rookie Khaman Maluach, Oso Ighodaro and Nick Richards in camp.
We have more from the Suns:
- At Phoenix’s media day on Sept. 24, star guard Devin Booker told Suns insider John Gambadoro (Twitter link) that there was a “disconnect” on last year’s squad. “I don’t think there was any hatred in our last group amongst the guys I just think when you are all on a different plan and don’t have the same common goal or same objective than that’s what it turns into,” Booker said. According to Gambadoro, Booker also said the last two years were the toughest of his career.
- Booker recognizes that his leadership is going to be of the utmost importance for this squad, Rankin writes for The Arizona Republic. With Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal no longer on the team, Booker is going to be relied on to be more vocal. “I’m going to use my voice always,” Booker said. “I feel something is going to be beneficial for the team, especially with this team now for the growth for any young player. I’ve been around these guys a lot. They’re already hitting me with the right questions. It was tough not getting where we wanted to with [Durant] and [Beal], two guys I have high respect for and always will.”
- The Suns’ G League team acquired the rights to Damion Baugh and David Duke Jr., whom Phoenix previously signed to training camp deals, according to Rankin (Twitter link). That indicates the plan is for both players to suit up for Phoenix’s NBAGL affiliate this season. In exchange, the Valley Suns sent the Westchester Knicks the returning rights to all of Cassius Stanley, Moses Wood, Mamadi Diakite, Quinndary Weatherspoon and Didi Louzada, along with a first- and second-round pick.
Suns Notes: Fifth Starter, Backcourt, Key Dates, TV Deal
First-time head coach Jordan Ott will be faced with some difficult decisions this fall as the Suns prepare for training camp, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (subscriber link).
In addition to managing Devin Booker‘s workload and discovering if Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming and Koby Brea can contribute as rookies, Ott and his staff will also have to determine Phoenix’s starting lineup. According to Rankin, Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams will likely be four of the five starters, but the fifth is less certain.
Rankin views second-year wing Ryan Dunn as the most logical candidate to be the fifth starter, assuming he was able to improve his three-point shot over the summer. If Dunn’s offensive efficiency is still lacking, Royce O’Neale would be a more proven option as a small-ball four.
Second-year forward/center Oso Ighodaro is another player who could receive starting consideration if Ott experiments with two-big lineups, Rankin adds.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- Although pairing Booker with Bradley Beal didn’t turn out very well, the Suns are optimistic about the backcourt duo of Booker and Green, Rankin writes in another story. “We are two people who are going to accept the double team and be able to play off each other,” Green said during Summer League in Las Vegas. “When you look at something like that, it’s like, we’re two people who know how to score the basketball. We’re two people who know how to attract the defense. When we’re doing something like that, you got to pick who you want to score tonight. He and I are going to be a deadly scoring duo.”
- In a third article for The Arizona Republic, Rankin lists several key dates to monitor ahead of the regular season. Phoenix’s media day (Sept. 24) and training camp (Sept. 25) are set for next week due to a preseason trip to China (Oct. 10-12).
- Owner Mat Ishiba has agreed to a two-year extension with Gray Media to broadcast Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury games free over the air throughout the state of Arizona, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, who reports that the deal is worth $30MM+ annually. Both teams’ local ratings have skyrocketed over the past two years since they switched to the free model. “It’s been a win-win,” Ishbia told ESPN. “It was do right by the fans and get the games more accessible. And when you grow your fanbase, good things happen.”
- In case you missed it, Kevin Durant recently offered his perspective on his trade saga with the Suns. Durant was eventually dealt to Houston in the deal that brought back Green, Brooks and the rights to the No. 10 pick (Maluach).
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Kuminga, DJJ, Suns, Micic
After stating in mid-July that he was “pretty confident” the Lakers weren’t interested in Heat forward Andrew Wiggins, Dan Woike of The Athletic confirms reporting from Marc Stein, writing that the Lakers appear more inclined to pursue an upgrade on the wing – including a player like Wiggins – in the wake of Luka Doncic‘s long-term commitment to the team. Doncic signed a three-year, maximum-salary extension with Los Angeles last month.
Although the Lakers seem more open to taking on contracts that run beyond the 2025/26 season in the right deal, they also may want to see how new additions like Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart, and Jake LaRavia look this fall before they cash in any of their limited trade assets, Woike cautions.
The Lakers can currently only trade one future first-round pick, either their 2031 or 2032 selection.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Checking in on where things stand between Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area says the restricted free agent forward continues to show little interest in Golden State’s two-year, $45MM offer that includes a second-year team option and requires him to waive his right to veto a trade. In Poole’s view, Kuminga signing his $7.98MM qualifying offer remains the most likely outcome.
- An arbitrator has ruled that Derrick Jones Jr.‘s former agent, Aaron Turner, is entitled to his full 4% commission ($1.2MM) on the three-year, $30MM contract the veteran forward signed with the Clippers in 2024, per NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). Jones made an agent change right around the time he entered free agency last summer.
- Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays several of the most notable comments that former Suns point guard Vasilije Micic made during a recent appearance on the X&O’s Chat (YouTube link), including Micic’s impressions of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, and his thoughts on why Phoenix fell well short of its expectations. “Why didn’t they succeed?” the Serbian guard said in his native language. “It was a bit of everything. Issues with the coach, issues with working together, which I don’t even know what it was.”