Phoenix Suns: Has Devin Booker Made Brandon Knight Expendable?

Brandon Knight’s Flaws

There’s no way around it: individual numbers aside, Brandon Knight just hasn’t been very good since he put on a Phoenix Suns uniform. The Suns are 17-36 in the 53 games he’s played over the last two seasons, and Knight has missed another 22 games in that time due to an ankle injury and a groin injury.

If you were to look only at his basic stat line, you’d think Knight was having a career year. He’s averaging a career high 19.7 points per game along with 5.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds, he’s had a 30-15-10 triple-double and he set a new career high in scoring in November with 38 points.

But Knight has failed to step up for the injured Bledsoe, and those paying close attention have realized that he should not play the point guard position. Not only is he converting a career-worst 3.5 turnovers per game, but that number has spiked to 3.8 per game with a -9.0 point differential since Bledsoe’s injury.

Just ask Tyson Chandler how many times Knight has thrown him an off-target lob for a failed alley-oop — and that’s without even mentioning all the times Knight hasn’t even seen him rolling wide open to the rim.

With a healthy Bledsoe, Knight doesn’t have to take on those ball handling and distributing duties that he seems to struggle with, but he hasn’t shown many signs that he’s capable of being a quality 2-guard alongside Bledsoe either.

On the defensive end, Knight’s inability to keep anyone in front of him is matched only by his inability to stick with his man off the ball. He doesn’t have the quickness or defensive principles to stick with point guards and 2-guards have been able to catch him sleeping by moving off the ball. Knight probably gets caught on more screens than any guard in the league, and his penchant for appearing on the wrong end of highlight reels has become well known by now.

On the offensive end, Knight’s flaws quickly become evident after just a few minutes of the eye test. He over-dribbles into trouble, he has problem’s making the right reads in pick-and-rolls, he struggles getting the ball to the right man over longer defenders (again, ask Chandler about that) and his shot is far too streaky to be relied upon.

Though Knight has the ability to heat up in a hurry, Suns fans have also seen the other ugly end of the spectrum, such as his 0-for-12 performance in a December loss to Portland.

Knight has been pegged as one of the team’s best perimeter shooters, but he’s only converting 33.3 percent of his three-point attempts on the season and even before Bledsoe’s season-ending meniscus injury, he was only shooting 34.4 percent from beyond the arc. Knight has been so streaky that it’s beginning to appear as though he’d be better suited for a sixth man role.

There was bound to be an adjustment period with Knight learning how to play alongside another point guard, but he hasn’t looked good in that combo guard role and he’s looked even worse since receiving the lion’s share of point guard minutes.

Next: Devin Booker, Elite Rookie