NBA Hall-of-Famer and beloved basketball analyst Shaquille O’Neal sucked at free throws, but if you want his opinion on things, best believe that he’s a straight shooter.
Last week, his attention turned to Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, one of the game’s rising stars:
Here are some of the important quotes from Shaq.
“I like the fact that he’s pissed off he didn’t make the All-Star game and he’s putting up great numbers, but at some point, he’s going to have to realize that in order to be a great player, you have to make other guys around you better,”
“I understand he doesn’t have talent around him, but if you look at what he has on paper, they’re OK.”
“I don’t watch them because they’re not winning, but when I see them on the court, they have a lot of talent. They got a big guy, they got a guy that can dribble and they got a guy who can shoot. I don’t want no excuses about, oh put talent around him. You are the talent, make it work.”
Booker is a talented scorer with a deadly mid-range and outside stroke. He’s scoring 26.1 points this season on 48.7% shooting, making him the only guard to average 20-plus and also shoot better than 48%. He’s also closing out on a third-straight year averaging 25 or more points per game.
Unfortunately, none of it isn’t translating to meaningful wins as he is yet to help the Suns reach the playoffs. They’re only 26-39 on the year, aimlessly chasing the current eighth seed Memphis Grizzlies, who are 32-33. Phoenix’s hasn’t been to the postseason since 2010, and it is the second-longest active playoff drought in the league – behind only the even more woeful Sacramento Kings.
Though Shaq makes a bold point, which holds a lot of weight to the majority since he’s an all-time great, the argument that Booker is simply lacking help is indeed strong as well.
Also, keep in mind that Shaq wanted out of Miami in 2008 when the team had the worst record in the NBA – just a season removed from winning the championship. He took shots at the Heat even after getting traded. What happened to making it work because you are “the talent?”
Ever since Booker became the Suns’ primary option in 2016, his two best scoring partners have been Eric Bledsoe and TJ Warren. He only partnered with the former for one season and still the lone teammate to average 20-plus in a season, while the latter was constantly injured during their peak years together. Warren then got traded for pocket change this past off-season.
The current squad, which mixes him with DeAndre Ayton, Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, and the once role player and now surging Aron Baynes, is arguably the best core Booker has been a part of. It’s also the most promising considering Ayton is still approaching his true potential.
It’s true that he has to make it work, but let’s give him one more season to grow.
