Suns stars have reportedly been unhappy for a while

PHOENIX Suns center Devin Booker called his teammates out for their effort in transition in the Christmas Day loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavs defeated the Suns 128-114 on the road, dealing them their third straight loss.

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker expressed his frustration over a supposed lack of effort from his teammates in their Christmas Day loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Credit: ESPN

Booker asked his teammates why they didn’t run back in transition after a turnover. Credit: ESPN

Booker scored 20 points as the Suns lost their third straight game. Credit: Getty

Things have been trending in the wrong direction for Phoenix in recent weeks.

And Booker, 27, expressed his frustration early in the second half of the Mavericks clash.

On a failed pick-and-roll play, Luka Doncic intercepted a sloppy pass from Suns big man Chimezie Metu to Booker.

The steal sent Doncic charging the other way in transition but only Phoenix’s star shooting guard ran back on defense.

The Slovenian scored an easy layup to make it 69-56 for Dallas.

And before Booker inbounded the ball, he looked at his teammates and angrily threw his arm up in the air.

ESPN microphones also picked up the three-time All-Star asking: “Why aren’t you running back?”

Booker scored 20 points and logged three rebounds, 10 assists, a steal, and a block while Kevin Durant added 16 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and a block on Christmas Day.

The Suns have gone 3-9 in their last 12 games with the team struggling with roster depth and injuries.

Although Durant’s trade to the Valley of the Sun is one of the reasons why Phoenix has a short bench, the 2014 NBA MVP is reportedly upset with the current state of affairs.

“You talk to people in Phoenix and around that organization, they can feel the frustration with Durant,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Monday’s NBA Countdown.

“Part of that, certainly, is the missed games for [Bradley] Beal. This team was built around those three stars [Durant, Beal, Booker].

“The underwhelming supporting cast that comes from those massive trades for Durant and Bradley Beal that really gutted the organization and left them having to sign a lot of minimum players to fill out the payroll.

“And then understanding that [the Suns] lack the assets, the draft picks, the trade capital, to go out and really improve this team.

“This is something they’re going to have to manage in Phoenix with Kevin Durant. You’ve seen it before.

“It’s a stark reminder of how short of a window, and how this team has to win big, and they have to win big quickly, based on how it was constructed and having Kevin Durant still playing at an All-NBA level.”