Winners & Losers From The 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend

Loser: Phoenix Suns

Devin Booker - Winner of the JBL 3-point contest on All-Star Saturday

Unless the Phoenix Suns pulled off an upset win over any of the top teams in the league, which is highly unlikely, Devin Booker winning the three-point contest would most likely be the greatest moment of their season. It's a pity but this is the state of affairs for the franchise from Arizona.

One could make the argument that Spencer Dinwiddie winning the Skills Challenge should then make the Brooklyn Nets a loser too, right? No, and let me explain why.

There's no doubting the fact that the Nets are among the worst teams in the league but it's more to do with a talent deficiency than anything else. That situation has been created because of the terrible trades the previous regime made. Meanwhile, in Phoenix, they have a legit star in Booker but they can't seem to do anything else around him but make plans to tank (shutting down active healthy players) at this time of the year.

Now, agreed the sample size is pretty small - it's just two years but it's not like the management was setting an example prior to that. Since the franchise just missed on a Playoff spot in 2013-14 with a 48-win season, they have not been competitive, to say the least.

They have been self-destructing to a certain degree, in order to get a good draft pick. Their general direction as a franchise, considering all their deals and trades over the past couple of seasons, haven't been encouraging.