There is much speculation that the Phoenix Suns have begun testing the market with the intention of trading guard Brandon Knight.
How soon Knight will be moved remains to be seen. However, most fans and media have speculated that with the emergence of Devin Booker in the second half of last season, and the announcement early in training camp this season that Booker would be the Suns’ starting shooting guard, Knight quickly became redundant and expendable, meaning that his countdown clock with the Suns was slowly ticking.
The NBA’s trade deadline is February 23, 2017.
Since game seven of his NBA career, Brandon Knight has been a starter. That was of course the case too when the Suns traded for him in the winter of 2015. If you recall, the Suns made a series of blockbuster trades on February 19, 2015. Knight was acquired with Kendall Marshall from the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Suns shipped off Tyler Ennis and Miles Plumlee to the Bucks, as well as a future Los Angeles Lakers first round pick, to the Philadelphia 76ers. (That pick is currently in the last year of it lottery protection and is only protected top-3. The Lakers are currently in the middle of a very early playoff race and will probably finish well outside of the top-3. If that is the case Philadelphia is most likely going to be able to use that pick in this upcoming draft.)
However, following injuries to himself and backcourt-mate Eric Bledsoe last season, rookie Devin Booker was forced into the starting lineup. It was Booker’s emergence as a high-powered scorer and future star that kept him in the starting lineup this year and relegated Knight to the bench.
While having three, young, guards of their skill-sets is a luxury, it is not one that a rebuilding team in need of further depth or improvement at other positions and who also wishes to stockpile future draft picks, needs.
Thus, the writing is on the wall: Brandon Knight wants to be a starter; the Suns do not need three similar guards; a trade is only an eventuality.
With most rumors at the moment pointing to the Brooklyn Nets, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Washington Wizards reportedly as the Suns’ most likely trade partners, let’s look at one potential trade scenario with each team.
*Note – I will not be designing blockbusters. The more complicated a trade scenario, the less likely. I will aim to only shoot for Knight as the only Sun to be shipped off. If another player makes sense, then I will discuss it, but only sparingly.
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