The Phoenix Suns made big splashes in the offseason in hopes of making it to the playoffs this season. Unfortunately, their season so far has been marred by injuries to either one of their star players. What was one of the best Big 3s on paper has not even had the chance to play together yet. These issues came to bite them back during the in-season tournament exit, and they surrendered to the Lakers in a 106-103 defeat, narrowly losing out on a semi-final berth.

Although the in-season games were nowhere close to the playoffs, they were still intense, and a win could have signaled the team’s potential success this season. Conversely, the loss, in turn, magnified the team’s shortcomings, prompting doubts about the decision to trade Chris Paul. This has sparked speculation about whether their franchise cornerstone, Devin Booker, has the leadership qualities that Paul brought to the table.

Devin Booker slammed for lacking leadership skills

In the recent episode of On The Ball with Ric Bucher, journalist Ric divulged the differences between Booker’s and Paul’s offensive and defensive approaches. According to him, Paul demonstrates a more “communal mindset” than Booker does. Booker committed five turnovers and dished out only two assists in the first quarter. This led Ric to conclude, “Man, the Suns are dreaming if they think that Devin can take them anywhere.”

Although Booker is a lethal shooter and scorer, these qualities alone are not enough to lead a team to the title. Ric believes that Booker, as a leader, is not just responsible for his shots but also for creating shots for his teammates. He further adds that no one else on the team, including Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant, has the requisites to become a leader. While Booker has those qualities, skills, size, and athleticism, he needs to improve his playmaking and leadership skills.

Booker’s drawbacks as a leader of a title-contending team

Booker’s game underwent a significant transformation in the second half, with him doubling his assists to four and reducing his turnovers to two. However, Ric points out that if Booker is to play against playoff contenders, taking half a game to figure things out might weigh heavily on the team. He then remarks, “Scorers generally have a ton of vision, ‘Get me the ball. I’ll figure out a way to get it to the basket. You guys take care of the rest.'”

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Another skill that Booker lacks to be considered the leader of a title team, according to Ric, is his average defense. Bucher states that every championship team leader needs a defensive stalwart by their side – as Draymond Green is to Stephen Curry and Anthony Davis is to LeBron James. “Just being an offensive maestro isn’t enough. And just being serviceable defensively isn’t enough. Unless you have that great defender next to you,” stated Bucher.

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