NBA Trade Rumors: Phoenix Suns To Deal Brandon Knight To Spurs, Mavs, Or Sixers?
The latest NBA trade rumors focus on the Phoenix Suns as they are looking to continue to bolster their roster. Among the names on the trading block for the team are their guards Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight. With the recent addition of a young star player in sharpshooter Devin Booker, the team simply can’t have all three players in the rotation due to needing them all to get touches. That means that one of them is likely to leave the team in a deal. It won’t be Booker and it probably won’t be Bledsoe, leaving Brandon Knight as the heavy possibility to be on the trading block.
According to ESPN writer Zach Lowe in his recent article, the team is not likely to part ways with Bledsoe anytime soon. However, there isn’t a strong enough interest yet in Knight, who the team doesn’t exactly want as a backup. Lowe explained why the Suns may wait things out until the season is underway.
“Still, the Suns did not flip a coveted Lakers pick for Knight, and then pay him $14 million per season, to be a backup. The league is cool on Knight now, but given the dearth of wings, the Suns might find a palatable trade market if Knight starts strong. (There is no indication that they have any interest in trading Bledsoe right now, sources say.)”
According to CBS Sports, these two guards both have a lot of value between them. Bledsoe played in just 31 games of the 2015-16 season but averaged 20.4 points, four rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. His counterpart Knight played 52 games and averaged comparable numbers with 19.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. Then there’s Devin Booker.
The No. 13 pick by Phoenix in last summer’s NBA Draft had a strong start to his career with the Suns. He had nearly 14 points a game scoring with 2.6 assists and 2.5 rebounds a contest. Most analysts expect his potential is there as one of the league’s best shooters, so his upside should only continue forward. It seems extremely unlikely that the Suns want to get rid of that potential in a young player like Booker.
So Knight would need a strong showing as the 2015-16 season gets underway. If he gets it, that certainly increases his trade value. Sportsrageous indicates that there are a handful of teams who could upgrade their guard position. Those teams include the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings, and Philadelphia 76ers. Several of those teams mentioned are legitimate contenders in the NBA for the upcoming season so adding Knight would help them further their chances at a nice postseason run. The 76ers aren’t quite near the playoff level just yet but are certainly getting there.
Of the teams mentioned, Philadelphia has been rumored to have several big men on the trading block for months now. They include Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. One particular trade that works out in ESPN’s Trade Machine is a straight-up deal between the Suns and 76ers involving power forward Nerlens Noel and Knight. The Okafor deal would also work out. Either player would add to a Phoenix Suns rotation that includes Bledsoe, Booker, Jared Dudley, T.J. Warren, and Tyson Chandler. Most likely this rebuilding team would want to move Tyson Chandler and start one of their younger big men in his place.
As mentioned, these are merely NBA trade rumors, with no basis to any actual potential deals yet. There have been no reports from the Phoenix Suns anywhere saying they are shopping Knight around. However, one has to think moving him in exchange for some more talent to add to an emerging young team in the West is a strong possibility. The questions are which team will want him enough, or will any teams be interested at all based on how he starts off the season? Stay tuned as the Phoenix Suns begin their season on Wednesday, October 26 against the Sacramento Kings.
[Featured Image by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]
