Devin Booker is still a star.
The Phoenix Suns still rely on Booker to be the guy they revolve around, and that won't be changing anytime soon.
Intriguingly, though, AllSportsPeople' NBA writer Stephen Noh has ranked Booker as the second-worst contract in the entire league.
Noh created a formula to determine expected value, and he writes that over the length of Booker's contract, he's got an expected value of $204.8 million.
The problem? Booker is on a contract worth $305.5 million.
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That's a negative difference of $99.7 million, with only 76ers center Joel Embiid having a worse such margin.
"The issue here is that Booker has the ninth-highest salary in the league," Noh writes. "He should be a no-brainer All-NBA player in order to justify that price tag. He's been more like a top 20 guy. He's shooting just 30 percent from 3 and doesn't have the same overall efficiency as in previous years."
Noh also issues a warning.
"Booker's contract is going to look ugly when his player option comes up, at the age of 33," Noh writes. "He'll be worth about $40 million at that point, but his actual salary will be close to $70 million. He's still probably going to be a top 30 player, but he will be paid like an MVP candidate."
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The margins are fine in the NBA. Trades can only be completed within certain salary windows. Some free agent signings can't happen for teams over certain portions of the cap.
It's really important to get deals right. And if Booker continues to not quite live up to his full contract, it'll be tough for the Suns to have a high ceiling.
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