PHOENIX — Wins apparently clear the air — and losses the opposite — for the Phoenix Suns as star guard Devin Booker addressed reports of coach Mike Budenholzer telling him to “tone it down vocally” earlier in the season.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!At shootaround ahead of their matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, Booker spoke to the media about the Chris Haynes report that implied he and Budenholzer haven’t seen eye-to-eye since they had a meeting asking the four-time All-Star to take a step back.
“Nah,” Booker said when asked if the reported meeting ever happened. “Coach said it, too. We’ve had multiple conversations. I can’t seem to find one that sticks out more than the others. It’s a player/coach relationship. When things start going bad, everybody tries to point fingers to find out what’s wrong. People are going to come up with stuff. The relationship is great. We’re on the same page, we’re trying to win and that’s that.”
Devin Booker on Chris Haynes report that Mike Budenholzer told him to "tone done" his voice and that Booker was shocked by it: "Nah, Coach said it, too. We've had multiple conversations. I can't seem to find one that sticks out more than the others. It's a player/coach… pic.twitter.com/FOGpXH37sN
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 2, 2025
The 28-year-old star sent a pointed message following a 124-116 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans imploring his teammates and coaching staff to communicate more when things get rough in games.
“I always look at myself first,” Booker said. “But I also talk a lot.”
After the initial report came out, Budenholzer told his side, stating that he and Phoenix’s all-time leading scorer have plenty of conversations and that disagreements happen, but are inevitable throughout the course of a season.
Suns coach Mike Budenholzer spoke about the @ChrisBHaynes report. #SunsUp pic.twitter.com/N8PchgIEmb
— Connor Moreno (@cmorenoNBA) March 1, 2025
With the air cleared from both sides, the Suns have one — the play-in. Phoenix (28-32) sits 3.5 games behind the Dallas Mavericks for the final play-in spot with 22 games remaining.
“Tone it down?” Seriously? Booker’s had enough, and the Suns’ locker room is exploding
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Reporter Connor Moreno covers the Phoenix Suns for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @cmorenoNBA, and on Bluesky, @cloading.bsky.social
