The stories that leak out over the years result in an endless array of possibilities. Most of which would’ve changed the trajectory of the league in one way or another.
Another Suns “what if” just resurfaced
all the way back from February of 2017. Earl Watson said Rob Sarver called him at 2 a.m. and invited him to his house to discuss what would’ve been a blockbuster, franchise-shaking trade.
“We have a trade for Devin. We’re going to send Devin to Chicago for Jimmy Butler, said Sarver.”
Watson said he was the biggest Booker advocate, and in that moment, he said, “If you trade Devin Booker, I am resigning tonight.”
He went on to say he didn’t want to be the coach who traded potentially one of the best two guards in the association. Watson said this was the beginning of the end for him in Phoenix.
Rob Sarver reportedly said, “If we don’t trade him, we’re going to try to get the number one pick, and your coaching record will be shot.”
They went back and forth, and ultimately, the trade fell through. Spoiler alert!
Later that year, Butler was traded by the Chicago Bulls along with the 16th overall pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and the No. 7 overall pick, which Chicago used to select Lauri Markkanen. It was a blockbuster deal right before the 2017 NBA Draft.
We’ll likely never get Sarver’s side from this story, or how exaggerated it may or may not be as time passes. But it’s another new (as far as I’m concerned) wrinkle of “what if” in Suns history.
