Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker did not mix up his words following a 120-107 Game 2 loss to the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and it cost him a $35,000 fine.

Booker called out official James Williams in his postgame press conference, saying that he was “terrible.”

The five-time All-Star picked up a bizarre technical in the third quarter of game two that clearly ticked off Booker enough for him to rip into the officiating. He even compared the NBA to pro wrestling during his press conference.

“In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James [Williams] was terrible tonight through and through,” Booker said.

“It’s bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport. People are going to start viewing this as a WWE if they’re not held responsible.”

Booker wasn’t the only Suns player to call out the officiating, as Suns forward Dillon Brooks had similar gripes about how the game is being officiated.

“When I used to watch this back when Michael Jordan was playing, or whoever else, when LeBron [James] was younger, it was physical basketball,” Brooks said.

“I don’t get why all the falling, the flopping and flailing and all this stuff is allowed when we get to the playoffs. Leave that for the [regular] season, for the fans. This is about who is the better team, who is the [smarter] team. Don’t decide the games on free throws.”

Brooks went in on his Canadian national team teammate and reigning league MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, calling him “frail” and this is a “man’s” game.

The Suns will welcome the Thunder for games three and four in hopes of evening the series and heading back to Oklahoma City.

The Phoenix Suns have categorically denied rumors that they are trading star Kevin Durant, with several members of the organization issuing clarifying statements this week. With fans turning their attention back to the NBA for the 2024 draft, Phoenix has established a united front.

Suns General Manager James Jones was the most recent front office member to address the Durant rumors, telling reporters after the first round Wednesday that the team has never considered a trade.

“It’s the question, it’s the topic of discussion, it’s the stuff that gets clicks that everyone wants to talk about,” Jones said. “But I think I said it specifically back on May 19 when I was asked are we trading Kevin Durant. I said ‘no’ then, I’ll say ‘no’ now.”

Earlier in the day on Wednesday, Suns owner Mat Ishbia took to social media to convey the same message.

“NBA Draft night is the best. Everyone talking about the drama and storylines, some are right and some are just wrong,” Ishbia said. “My turn. Phoenix loves Kevin Durant and Kevin Durant loves Phoenix, and we are competing for a championship this year because we have the team to do it. Gotta love draft night! Go Suns.”

Phoenix is coming off back-to-back seasons in which the team has underperformed despite immense star power. Durant, along with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, have combined to form one of the best trios in the NBA, but the Suns have not advanced past the conference semifinals since Durant’s arrival during the 2023 season.

In an effort to surround Booker with proven talent in recent years, the Suns have had to deal away several key role players like veteran Chris Paul, Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson.

Breaking up the roster that advanced to the 2021 NBA Finals seemed risky but worthwhile at one point, but the team has already begun to backtrack. With a massive salary cap problem on the horizon, Phoenix had to deal away star big man Deandre Ayton last summer for spare parts just to fill out the roster.

Despite not attaining the level of success they might have anticipated in the past two seasons, the Suns are not yet willing to scrap everything. Durant still has two years remaining on his contract, and based on the statements from Jones and Ishbia, the front office still firmly believes in his ability to deliver a championship.

With their first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft Wednesday, the Suns picked Dayton Flyers star DaRon Holmes III. They forfeited their second-round pick because of a tampering violation.

Rich Paul, the agent representing Bronny James ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft, is attempting to distance his client from his father and future Hall-of-Famer LeBron James. Many have speculated that the two would be a package deal, but Paul discredited that idea earlier this week.

“LeBron is off this idea of having to play with Bronny,” Paul said Wednesday, according to ESPN. “If he does, he does. But if he doesn’t, he doesn’t. There’s no deal made that it’s guaranteed that if the Lakers draft Bronny at 55, he [LeBron] will re-sign. If that was the case, I would force them to take him at 17. We don’t need leverage. The Lakers can draft Bronny, and LeBron doesn’t re-sign. LeBron is also not going to Phoenix for a minimum deal. We can squash that now.”

Coming off a season in which he scored five points per game at USC, much of Bronny’s prospective draft value stems from the idea that the team drafting him would also have a chance of signing LeBron. The four-time NBA Champion has previously expressed the desire to play in the league with his son before retiring.

“I need to be on the floor with my boy, I got to be on the floor with Bronny,” James said in early 2023, before quickly adding that it could be together or in opposing uniforms.

Despite his eagerness at one point, however, several reports in recent months seem to confirm that LeBron is no longer fixated on the idea. Though he still has the family name, Bronny will enter the draft as a green mid-tier prospect with limited college experience.

Paul reported that the 19-year-old guard has worked out with the Lakers and Suns and that focused interactions with teams is part of the agent’s plan.

“I got the word out early to teams that if you plan on bringing Bronny in, here’s what you need to know: If you won’t give him a real deal, there’s nothing to talk about,” Paul said. “It’s hard to get real development on a two-way deal. I don’t care about him going to the Lakers, or Phoenix, or about what number he gets picked. It’s about fit.”

While drafting Bronny may not have the power to pull LeBron away from Los Angeles as some once thought, it is still likely that the move could convince him to stay. The Lakers are currently in talks with LeBron to extend his stay with the team, and drafting his son would be an excellent way to prevent him from exploring the waters in free agency. It may no longer be a priority for the James family to unite, but Los Angeles could make it far more convenient.

Toward the end of a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns Tuesday night, Lakers guard Patrick Beverley was ejected for shoving Suns center Deandre Ayton to the floor for standing over teammate Austin Reaves. Beverley stood by his actions after the game, claiming that Ayton had fouled Reaves hard and was taunting afterwards.

“Got a person on the ground, two people looking over mean-mugging and puffing their chest out and referees don’t get into it to kind of separate it, control the game, so I’m going to stand up for my teammate,” Beverley said after the game.

In a game the Lakers would go on to lose 115-105, Beverley’s shove to protect his teammate had a minimal impact on the result, as Suns stars Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges led their team in scoring with 25 points. Despite a 37-point showing for Lakers forward Anthony Davis, Los Angeles struggled to produce around him, eventually losing momentum early in the second half and never recovering.

Beverley was the center of attention in post-game interviews on both sides. Booker was similarly quick to defend Ayton while calling out Beverley for cowardice.

“Pat need to stop pushing people in the back man. Push them in the chest,” Booker said.

The Lakers have struggled thus far in a make-or-break season for the team, going 5-11 with the services of Davis, LeBron James, Beverley and Russell Westbrook. Beverley never cited ongoing frustrations for his altercation Tuesday night, however, and went on to stress his care for his teammates.

“Obviously, it’s unfortunate that it happened on national TV,” Beverley said. “But you know me. Regardless of what’s going on, I’m a big fan of protecting my teammates. … I’m a foxhole guy. I put on the jersey, and I commit to a team, I commit to a city, and it’s kind of my motto. I’m a foxhole guy.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, it does not appear that Beverley will have to face further disciplinary action for the incident. The Lakers’ next game is on the road against the Spurs on Friday.

In the wake of the NBA’s investigation into the Phoenix Suns and a toxic and misogynistic workplace, Vice President of Strategy and Evaluations, Ryan Resch has publicly come out as gay. In an article published by ESPN, Resch now becomes the NBA’s first openly gay basketball operations executive.

Resch first came out to Phoenix Suns general manager James Jones prior to a home game this winter. “We were playing Miami at home and I wanted to bring somebody I was seeing at the time to the game and have him sit with me in our executive suite, and I obviously can’t do that unless you tell the other executives whom you’re bringing. In true James fashion – he has been referred to as the best teammate of all time by several of his former teammates – it was amongst the most nondescript conversations we’ve ever had,” Resch said.

Resch joined the Phoenix Suns as an intern in 2017 and rapidly rose within the ranks in the front office. He was then promoted to director of basketball strategy in 2019 and held that position until 2021 when he was given the title of chief-of-staff before serving as the Vice President of basketball strategy and evaluation.

Resch said this decision to come out was to “normalize for people in and out of the league the existence of gay men and women on the basketball side,” he said. There hasn’t been an openly gay player in the NBA since 2014 when Jason Collins came out as gay and signed a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets.

Resch said that he wanted players to feel secure about their NBA status to feel comfortable coming out. “I’m extremely fortunate that my actualized risk is completely different from the perception of risk that I created in my head,” he said. “But for a player who’s concerned about risking sponsorships, extremely high-dollar contracts, or dealing with media questions or podium questions when they’re in the middle of a playoff run, that’s difficult. We don’t necessarily provide people in this industry with the privacy, time, or space to become comfortable with who they are.”

Other execs and figures around the league are praising Resch for his decision. Luke Loucks, who worked under him in Phoenix said, “His coming out was not a big deal in our day-to-day operations or my personal relationship with Ryan. We respect his courage and his decision to let us know, but it really didn’t change anything – because it shouldn’t.”

Draymond Green is at his best when he is annoying people, whether that be his opponents, opposing fans or the NBA league as a whole. While appearing on the NBA on TNT Sunday night, Green made the most blatant and shameless attempt at tampering (since Magic Johnson went on Jimmy Kimmel) to poke at Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker. “It’s great to see Booker playing well and Phoenix playing well, but get my man out of Phoenix. It’s not good for him, it’s not good for his career. Sorry, Chuck — they got to get Book out of Phoenix. I need my man to go somewhere he can play great basketball all the time and win because he’s that type of player.”

When asked directly if he was tampering, Green replied, “maybe.”

Basketball-wise, this is a smart move by Green. While Booker would overlap skill and position with Warrior guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, he would restore them to their flamethrower offense of yore. The NBA did its job and fined Green $50,000 for his comments, which he probably doesn’t mind given his recent signing of a $100 million-plus contract.