Phoenix Suns: Complete 2018 offseason grades
The Chriss trade
In a deal with the Houston Rockets, the Suns exchanged one youngster with potential and one bad contract for … one youngster with potential and one bad contract.
By sending Marquese Chriss and Brandon Knight to Clutch City, the Suns moved two sunk costs that McDonough gave up quite a bit for. Their return? A floor-spacing 4 to make like easier on Booker on offense, plus another young rookie point guard who could be a great long-term fit.
Anderson’s contract is worse than Knight’s, but he’s waiving a considerable amount of money to make like easier on Phoenix. Ryno is unplayable in a playoff series, but the Suns don’t have to worry about that this year.
To clear the way for a trade out of Houston, Ryan Anderson agreed to reduce the guarantee on his $21M salary in 2019-20 to $15.6M, league sources told ESPN. For the Suns, the $15.6M represents Brandon Knight’s salary for the 2019-20 season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 31, 2018
Giving up on Chriss at age 21 seems a bit hasty, but it was obvious the organization was quickly tiring of his outlook on professional basketball. From his attitude problems on the court to foul trouble to his poor offseason work ethic and weight gain, it was clear Chriss still had quite a bit of growing up to do.
With that in mind, this deal is mostly about Melton, who impressed in NBA Summer League as a two-way terror, averaging 16.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game. He’s a versatile and committed defender who could be the ideal fit next to Booker on that end. If he figures out his jump shot, he’ll be one of the biggest steals of the draft.
Here my thoughts. Is Anderson a better starting PF than Knight is a starting PG. Yes. Is Melton’s potential as a backup PG better than Chriss potential as a backup PF. Yes. Deal is a win.
— Espo (@Espo) August 31, 2018
However, this deal also calls into question what Phoenix will do at the 1-spot leading into 2018-19. The team will continue to try to trade for a starting-caliber point guard, but right now, their only in-house options are two second round rookies (with Melton still being unsigned), Isaiah Canaan and Shaquille Harrison. Yikes.
This trade is a good one, even if Chriss finds his calling as a rim-running big next to two elite point guards in Houston. However, its worth not only relies on Melton’s progress or Anderson’s 3-point shooting, but also on how Phoenix fixes its point guard problem between now and October to spare Okobo and Melton from being given too much responsibility too early..
Grade: B