Phoenix Suns: Winners and losers of the Brandon Knight trade

Winners: De’Anthony Melton and Brandon Knight

De’Anthony Melton could be the biggest winner out of the entire situation. He could have been a first round pick, potentially even a late lottery pick, had an NCAA scandal not sidelined him all of last season.

In NBA Summer League, he vastly outperformed expectations for a 46th overall pick. Melton averaged 16.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists, and even added in 3.0 steals per game just for the fun of it.

In Houston, Melton would’ve been the fourth guard in the rotation at best. Houston’s rotation includes Chris Paul, James Harden, Eric Gordon, Gerald Green and Michael Carter-Williams. Minutes would’ve been pretty hard to come by for a second round rookie.

In Phoenix, Melton could theoretically step right away into the starting point guard spot. Knight was the presumptive starter, and now he’s gone. The remainders are fellow second round rookie Elie Okobo, career backup Isaiah Canaan and fringe players like Shaquille Harrison.

It’s reported the Phoenix Suns are still looking for a starting point guard not named Knight. If that’s the case and they make a trade for a possible franchise point guard, Melton could still end up as a backup. Still, he should at least get a chance to earn major minutes in Phoenix, which is something that couldn’t be said of him in Houston.

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Brandon Knight is also a winner here. Whether he plays this season in Houston or somewhere else, anywhere is better than Phoenix at this point.

Despite being a good player in Detroit and Milwaukee, injuries and ineffectiveness plagued Knight’s tenure with the Phoenix Suns. If he is traded again, he’ll be on a team that wants him and has a plan for him, and that’s more than can be said of Phoenix.

If he does stay in Houston, things could work out for him as well. Mike D’Antoni is known for getting the most out of his players, especially guards with the ability to score. He could unlock a new version of Brandon Knight, and even if he just brings back Milwaukee Knight, that’s still better than Phoenix Knight.

On paper, having four guards in Knight, Paul, Harden and Gordon who could all be starters is a great thing. On the court though, his fit is a bit questionable.

Knight’s main problem in the past has been his inability to be an off-ball player. With average-at-best shooting percentages, bad passing and worse defense, Knight needs the ball to be effective.

He might not get it in Houston. One of Paul or Harden is always on the floor, and even when only one is on, Gordon usually is too. Carmelo “High Usage Rate” Anthony is being added to the team as well, and there’s only one ball.

D’Antoni has typically preferred pretty one-dimensional role players around his stars — hit open 3s, defend your position, but mostly, stay out of the way. Knight doesn’t really fit that mold. Maybe he just ends up as an insurance policy, another solid guard you can bring in if Paul’s hamstring flares up.

Whether Brandon Knight ends up working with D’Antoni and learning from some point guard greats, or whether he moves onto another team, he definitely is in a better position now than he was a few days ago.