Suns Rumors: Brandon Knight Not On Trade Block
Phoenix Suns Rumors: Brandon Knight is not on the trade block according to general manager Ryan McDonough.
Phoenix Suns rumors have begun to sprout up in the early going of the season. The Suns have gotten off to a slow start with a 4-10 record. They are a team in rebuilding mode with the players on the roster averaging 24.7 years old. It is clear that they are looking to build with a new nucleus, but there are some veterans on the roster that could be moved in the coming months.
Having veterans on a young team is a must for development. The Suns have a couple of players that fall into that role, such as Tyson Chandler, Jared Dudley and Leonardo Barbosa — all consummate professionals that have a lot to teach younger players. All three have varying levels of playoff success as well, with Chandler and Barbosa both winning NBA championships.
But there are also veterans on the team in limbo. No one walks into the category quite like Brandon Knight. Knight has shown flashes in his career but has never quite lived up to the hype since coming out of Kentucky in 2011.
He was a first-round pick by the Detroit Pistons but has already been traded twice in his career. Getting traded is two-fold; it means there is a team that wants you, but it also means that there is a team that no longer thinks you can help. Could he be on the move via trade once again?
It would make sense for the Suns to entertain offers for him. They already have their backcourt set with Eric Bledsoe and budding superstar Devin Booker. That means Knight won’t be in the starting lineup, something he has done throughout a majority of his career unless an injury occurs.
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The Suns also used a draft pick on Tyler Ulis in 2016, while Barbosa and Dudley are both capable of chipping in minutes at shooting guard as well. So if a Knight trade occurred they would probably be able to make up the difference with the players on the roster and whoever they brought in on the trade.
But, it does not sound like a trade is coming any time soon. General Manager Ryan McDonough said as much when on Burns and Gumbo’s radio show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “We’re certainly not looking to move Brandon, we haven’t been close to trading Brandon,” he said. McDonough also added, “I think he’d love to be starting, we understand that. He’s accepted the role very well. I think you guys will see him go on a run here.”
Knight has said all the right things when asked about his new role as the sixth man. But, it is not one that he is adapting well to in the early going. Knight is playing a career-low 24.6 minutes per game and is seeing career-low statistics as a result.
Knight’s 13.1 points per game are fourth on the team, but he is shooting only 37.9 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from deep. Both are under his career averages of 41.5 and 35.8. His assists and rebounds are also down, as he is averaging 3.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game.
Here is what ESPN’s Zach Lowe had to say about Knight, who is starting to show what kind if player he is in his sixth season in the league.
"“The evidence is piling up that Knight doesn’t quite have the feel to be a lead guard — the wayward lobs to a moping Tyson Chandler, bounce passes that miss their target or hit people in the feet, and barfy pull-up jumpers early in the shot clock. Knight isn’t big enough to start on the wing, which means he’s probably living out his destiny as a score-first sixth man in the Jamal Crawford lineage. He just has to, you know, score.”"
There is nothing wrong with being a sixth man like Jamal Crawford. He is a key piece to the Los Angeles Clippers’ success and has thrived since moving into the role full-time in recent years. Knight could benefit from committing to the move as well, as he has a similar skill-set to Crawford as a score-first guard.
Knight is signed through the 2019-20 season and owed $58.3 million. With the money that teams are throwing around now in free agency, that isn’t a horrible contract. He is not currently playing up to those numbers, but once he adjusts to the bench role the results could improve.
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While the Suns aren’t currently looking to trade him, teams could come calling that need a boost on their second unit. Committing to the change would be a smart move for Knight as there are plenty of players that have made great careers out of being sixth men.