The Suns had a reason for not pursuing D’Angelo Russell. It just had nothing to do with basketball.

Phoenix believed the 23-year-old All-Star would be a bad influence on 22-year-old Devin Booker off the court, according to USA Today, which led them to sign Ricky Rubio.

Booker and Russell are friends, and Booker — along with many fans — were reportedly pushing for management to get the former Net in the desert.

Russell was instead dealt to the Warriors on Sunday in a sign-and-trade that secured him a four-year, $164 million max contract and Brooklyn a protected future first-round pick.

Though he led the Nets to their first postseason appearance since 2015, Russell became expandable once Brooklyn opened free agency by signing Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan.

As for the Suns, their Russell theory isn’t out of nowhere. The Lakers traded the former second-overall pick to the Nets after just two seasons because then-president Magic Johnson deemed Russell immature.

Johnson has since changed his perception.

“He’s better now,” Johnson told The Athletic earlier this month. “He’s a different player. He’s more mature.”

Earlier this offseason, Russell was cited by police for marijuana possession while trying to fly out of La Guardia.

A source told The Post’s Brian Lewis that the incident was “not an issue” while others agreed it wouldn’t affect his status as a free-agent.