Phoenix Suns: Does It Have To Be Eric Bledsoe or Brandon Knight?

If the reports are to be believed, restricted free agent guard Brandon Knight is about to get a five-year, $70 million offer from the Phoenix Suns on July 1, the first day of free agency. Other reports point towards trade rumors swirling around Eric Bledsoe, who was tabbed as the face of the franchise just one year ago. It seems the franchise is hellbent on choosing one or the other — does it have to be that way?

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THE CASE FOR BLEDSOE

This one is pretty simple — when both are healthy, he’s the better player and he’s a known commodity. You can be sure that you’re going to get your fair share of triple-doubles (and frustrating turnovers) mixed in with blazing speed, toughness and an inconsistent jumper.

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For my money, Bledsoe is one of the most underrated talents in the game. I know we’re in an era where we worry more about our athletes and we point towards potential injury issues as if they’re destined to happen, but wouldn’t we have given up on Stephen Curry if we always thought that way?

Aside from injury worries — and the fact that Bledsoe plays so hard that his style definitely adds wear more than a guy like Ricky Rubio‘s game — is the worry that he turns the ball over too much. Russell Westbrook gets away with it because he can score at will.

To that I say — don’t forget that the 2014-15 season was Bled’s first full season as a full-time starter. He’s still just 25 years old and is growing as a person and a player. In terms of raw talent, there’s no question that Bledsoe is the better pick.

THE CASE FOR KNIGHT

The 6-foot-3 Knight is definitely a better outside shooter than Bledsoe, as he shot 40.9 percent from the 3-point line before coming to Phoenix last season (he finished at 38.9 combined). Being able to keep the floor spaced is something the Suns struggled with late last season as they faded away — they were the worst team in basketball over the last 20 games, shooting just 28.4 percent from three.

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Knight is also two years younger, though when we talk in terms of basketball mileage, Knight has actually played roughly 850 more regular season minutes in their careers. Knight hasn’t dipped under 2,000 minutes in a season at any point in his career, whereas Bledsoe just crossed 1,900 for the first time last season.

Defensively, Knight’s frame allows him to more successfully challenge taller guards on the perimeter, allowing more flexibility than having Bledsoe on the floor. Last season, opponents shot .3 percent worse against Knight (.1 percent better from 3-point line) than their season average. For contrast, Bledsoe held opponents to .6 percent worse overall and 1.5 percent better from three.

The last issue is a tough one — value. Although the Suns appear to value Knight more than other teams, it’s Bledsoe that is pulling in the interest from other teams right now. There’s an argument to be made for keeping Knight, then trading Bledsoe to bring in more assets with which to surround Knight.

THE CASE FOR BLEDSOE AND KNIGHT TOGETHER

Each guard has their own specialty, with Bledsoe being better at attacking the rim and Knight better at keeping the floor spaced, but without slashers on the court who need that kind of spacing, would it matter? Was Markieff Morris or Alex Len facing too many double-teams last season? That’s the fear I have if the Suns decide to keep Knight and send Bledsoe away.

Keeping the two guards together does neuter Knight to an extent, but Bledsoe and Goran Dragic made it work — why couldn’t Bledsoe and Knight do the same? With all due respect to Isaiah Thomas, it wasn’t until he was added to the mix that things started to truly fall apart.

Offensively, the two guards complement each other well. Defensively they’d be a bit undersized and would struggle badly against big shooting guards (same as Dragic era). If the Suns can ensure they address another rim protector (or at the very least a big rebounder), that wouldn’t be as big of an issue.

That’s where this scenario really falls apart, unfortunately. Keeping Bledsoe and Knight together means the Suns would take themselves out of the top of the free agent market. Adding an annual salary of $14 million for Knight puts the Suns at approximately $57 million in salary next season. Could they go after a second-tier free agent? Absolutely, but any dreams of Kevin Love or LaMarcus Aldridge go out the window quickly.

PLAYING SUNS GM

With a proverbial gun to my head, I’d keep both Bledsoe and Knight together. The Suns haven’t shown the ability to attract the premiere free agents over the last decade and I don’t see that changing. They still have a big need at the power forward position, though they could make their $8-10 million stretch. Even in a worst-case scenario where they can’t fill that hole, they’ll have two really valuable (and cheap) contracts to work with when the cap skyrockets next year.

My (totally unprofessional) advice? Keep both, make a run at a veteran rebounder and make a hard push when the cap goes up.

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