Phoenix Suns: Winners and losers of the Brandon Knight trade
By Luke Swiatek
Unclear: Marquese Chriss and Ryan Anderson
This trade is either the best or worst thing that could have happened to Marquese Chriss, and it’s not immediately clear which one is correct.
On the one hand, Chriss may fit like a glove into D’Antoni’s system. D’Antoni’s bigs mainly just have to catch lobs, and if there’s one thing Chriss can do, it’s catch lobs.
D’Antoni also likes his bigs to protect the rim though, and for all of Chriss’s athleticism, he’s been a poor defender so far. Houston also likes bigs with the ability to switch on the perimeter occasionally, and again, Chriss hasn’t shown the ability to do that yet either.
There are also only so many pure bigs that one team needs. Clint Capela will start every game at center when healthy, and Nene has proven a capable backup. D’Antoni won’t play two non-shooters next to each other, so there’s not too many minutes to go around for those two plus Chriss.
If his jump shot improves, then we could be looking at a different situation. If the Rockets had a lob threat who also could set up in the corner off-ball, that would give them some serious added flexibility. Then again, the same thing is true of Isaiah Hartenstein and Zhou Qi, whose jump shots look at least as good as Chriss’.
Perhaps Chriss can develop and thrive in his very defined role in D’Antoni’s system, and maybe he can even be a difference-maker in a playoff series. However, he’s just as likely to end up planted on the bench, wishing he was still on a rebuilding team who’d play him.
Ryan Anderson is probably also a winner here, but not to the degree of Melton or Knight.
On the bright side, he should be a starter this year for the Phoenix Suns. He also frequently started for the Houston Rockets in the regular season, but was usually demoted in the playoffs when his defensive weaknesses were exposed.
His job will be very simple, just like it always is: hit 3-pointers. He’ll probably get more playing time, but Phoenix won’t make the playoffs. Not a big difference for him, really.
He did agree to lower the amount of money he’s guaranteed to grease the wheels of the trade, but he’s not at a major risk. If he does end up being cut next year, he’ll only have cost himself roughly $5 million, and he should probably make at least that much back on a new contract.