Phoenix Suns: 5 Takeaways From The Lost 2015-16 Season

2. Knight Doesn’t Want A Bench Role

Hmm. Where have we seen this scenario before?

Back in 2013-14, the Suns battled to 48 wins in what was supposed to be a lost season, riding Goran Dragic’s career year, half a season from Bledsoe and Hornacek’s magical powers of extraction to finish one game shy of the playoffs. This year, those 48 wins would’ve been good enough for the fifth seed in the West.

But then general manager Ryan McDonough got greedy with his powers of persuasion, swinging a dynamite individual deal for Isaiah Thomas that overlooked the larger picture. With three point guards and only one ball to go around, tensions eventually ran high, despite the fact that the team was winning games.

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Dragic wound up all but demanding a trade, McDonough jettisoned the Dragon and I.T. at the trade deadline and in a moment of panic, dealt away a potentially valuable first round pick from the Lakers for Brandon Knight — another combo guard the Suns were hoping would pair with Bledsoe in another dual-point guard backcourt.

That deal hasn’t exactly worked out, and the Suns seem to be heading toward another one just like it.

Since arriving in Phoenix, Knight has missed 46 of a possible 109 games due to injury. He was re-signed to a sizable five-year, $70 million extension last summer, and though that figure won’t look as bad in a few years with the rising cap, Knight’s latest groin injury makes his contract downright unmovable at the moment.

Why would the Suns want to move Knight, a player who averaged a career-high 19.6 points, 5.1 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game this year? Well, even if he weren’t riddled with injuries, Knight would still be a turnover-prone point guard who rarely finds his teammates good shots, takes even worse ones himself (long two, anyone?) and tops it all off with horrendous defense.

Knight is an undeniably effective scorer and solid perimeter shooter, especially on the nights where he turns that streaky shooting of his into a hot streak. Ideally, Knight would embrace a sixth man role since it’s best tailored to his talents — even without the emergence of wunderkind rookie Devin Booker.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear like it’ll be happening anytime soon.

"“My role’s gonna be the same,” Knight said. “I don’t see my role changing. We’ll see what happens next year as far as roles, but I see my role being exactly the same.”"

So you wouldn’t even consider coming off the bench, Brandon?

"“I see my role being the same,” he said."

So the bench is completely out of the question, then?

"“Like I said, I see. My role. Being the same,” he said. “Whatever I did this year, I plan on being better next year.”"

Knight’s always been a proud player. His frequent appearances in Kyrie Irving crossover mixes or DeAndre Jordan posterizing dunk highlights probably bother him, but not more than the idea that he’s not a starting-caliber point guard in this league.

While Booker and Bledsoe were bursting with optimism and excitement about the three sharing the backcourt next season, Knight almost came off as bitter in regards to Booker’s development. He’s no idiot; he knows that Booker has rapidly become the face of the franchise, and it’s only a matter of time before the young sharpshooter makes him expendable.

But everyone’s seen this story before: Three guards trying to share the backcourt, and even if/when the minutes are divided evenly, someone is still left wanting more.

"“I mean, it’s about the same,” Bledsoe said when asked about the similarities of this backcourt to the ill-fated Bledsoe-Dragic-Thomas trio. “I’ve played with a lot of guards, so it’s pretty much the same.”"

Booker’s perimeter shooting and ability to operate both on and off the ball changes things a bit, but not by much. A disgruntled Knight holding up Booker’s development is the last thing this team needs, so if Knight truly isn’t open to a sixth man role, the Suns would do well to move him sooner rather than later.

Otherwise, the Suns are heading right back to a situation where the word “sacrifice” quickly morphs into “tension.”

"“You just gotta sacrifice,” Bledsoe said. “It’s up to the coach to play who’s playing their butt off that night. So it’s up to the coach and we can control coming out in the summer time and putting the work in to where we’re jelling as a team.”"

Next: No. 1