NBA Rumors: Suns Questioned Influence Of D'Angelo Russell On Devin Booker

The Phoenix Suns had a golden chance to get D'Angelo Russell and grant the wish of star guard Devin Booker with the impending coming of Kyrie Irving. But to everyone's surprise, the rising star guard ended up joining the Golden State Warriors instead. That move will be finalized once the reported sign-and-trade deal is concluded when the NBA moratorium ends on Saturday.

At first, it seemed like an odd fit with the Warriors already have a ton of guards. Second, Russell is likely to play behind Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson looking at it long-term, NBC Sports reported. But with Klay, who recently re-signed with the Dubs, expected to miss parts of the 2019-20 NBA season, the second overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft is expected to fill in that void for the time being.

As to the reason on why the Suns passed on Russell, USA Today reported that it was the 23-year-old's off-court issues that concerned Phoenix. They felt that he would not be a good influence on Booker. Despite shining last season with the Brooklyn Nets and officially becoming an NBA All-Star, DLO had issues such as that marijuana possession in New York and that infamous feud with Nick Young when he was still with the Los Angeles Lakers.

It remains to be seen if Russel can continue his success with the Dubs, seeing how he will have to earn his spot on Steve Kerr's rotation. Compared to the Suns, however, joining a team that has made the NBA finals the last five years and something that resulted in three NBA titles, the 6-foot-5 guard has a golden opportunity to become a champion which most players want to fulfill their pro basketball career.

After losing to the Toronto Raptors in the last NBA Finals, the Warriors have their work cut out for them. Thompson is injured and Kevin Durant has opted to take his act to Brooklyn - ironically the last team of Russell. There is no certainty on whether DeMarcus Cousins will return and Andre Iguodala is reportedly set to join the Los Angeles Lakers. As one can see, the Dubs need to fill in key positions in what some may call a semi-rebuild mode this offseason.

Instead, the Suns have signed Ricky Rubio to fill up their point guard void. The Spaniard has draw flak for his lack of an outside shot although there are players on the roster that can override that. Rubio is expected to help make life easier for the Suns' bigs - particularly DeAndre Ayton down low.