Contrary to the initial expectations of winning a championship, it has been a tough season for the Suns. They are stuck at the eleventh seed in the West standings, two wins away from the play-in spot. Amid their struggles, there have been speculations about rising tensions in the locker room, especially between Mike Budenholzer and Devin Booker. As per veteran insider Chris Haynes, “I was told that weeks ago, Mike Budenholzer called his star guard Devin Booker into his office to issue a complaint.”

Turns out, the head coach reportedly had an issue with Book being too vocal on the court and during timeout huddles, and urged him to “tone it down” and let the coaches’ voice be heard. “This completely shocked Booker, I was told,” Haynes added. As expected, Budenholzer received a ton of criticism following the shocking revelation. Things got worse when another media veteran, Evan Sidery, reported, “People within the Suns’ organization say Mike Budenholzer is miserable to deal with.”

With his reputation and job at potential risk, the head coach made a public attempt to defuse the situation.

Addressing the controversial exchange with Booker, he said, “Well, Devin and I have lots of conversations. So, you know I think it’s super healthy. Internally, some of the stuff has been shared with me, so usually I’m kind of naïve or in a cave. But Devin’s care factor is off the charts.” Sure, there are times when Mike does not see eye to eye with his players. But it doesn’t necessarily mean there is bad blood between them. He continued, “There’s conversations that Devin and I have all the time and I’m good with those conversations. We don’t always agree on everything. I think he actually appreciates it. I appreciate it. So yeah, I think I’ll leave it there.”

Moreover, Budenholzer was highly appreciative of how well Booker leads the Suns, “Devin always starts with himself. He’s always pushing all of us to be better. Devin’s awesome and his communication is awesome. His style is great. So, I get it, I understand.” Of course, Booker is one of the Suns’ longest tenured players and it’s his role to be a vocal leader. The head coach also assured that there was not much hidden between him and Devin.

Interestingly, Coach Bud revealed another aspect that is quite effective in shutting down any rumors.

Mike Budenholzer reveals Devin Booker’s “Upfront” Nature, denying Communication problem

Amid the rising speculations, Budenholzer also revealed one key quality of Booker that shuts down the communication issue, “Devin, you know he’s a very upfront, very honest, he’s a very real person. He and I have very real conversations. So, usually anything he said, you know, whether being here or somewhere else, he’s probably said it to me in another time.”

Yes, Booker is a very vocal player, and he himself has acknowledged it in a recent interview, “I always look at myself first. But I also talk a lot.”

As he detailed how much he respects Booker and his attitude, the head coach reiterated, “Communication and our team being together and our team being able to fight, you know, are all good messages.” As disruptive as it may seem from the outside, there are bound to be arguments in a team that wants to win a championship. But that’s not always a bad sign. Even Booker said it: “I’d rather two people say the wrong thing to each other out there than nobody talk at all and leave the gray area.”

However, in order to prove that things are alright, Budenholzer needs to start winning more games. Fortunately, he got the job done tonight as the Suns blew out the Pelicans by seventeen points. Hopefully, they will be able to continue this momentum and silence the critics once and for all.