Valley of the Suns
Fansided

Brandon Knight should remain a Sun at least for now

By Adam Maynes

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - DECEMBER 19: Brandon Knight #11 of the Phoenix Suns shoots a free throw against the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 19, 2016 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - DECEMBER 19: Brandon Knight #11 of the Phoenix Suns shoots a free throw against the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 19, 2016 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – FEBRUARY 06: Brandon Knight
NEW ORLEANS, LA – FEBRUARY 06: Brandon Knight /

How last season ended was not entirely his fault

Before I explain the Suns’ options and how I believe they should handle his contract moving forward, I want to take a very quick moment to explain the past:

We all remember that when the Suns decided to shut down Eric Bledsoe they asked Brandon Knight to fill his spot in the rotation. But we must also recall that Brandon Knight – a healthy Brandon Knight – had been shut down first.

Yet when Knight said no, it shot shock waves of negativity throughout the Valley of the Suns.

Knight claimed that his reasoning for not playing was that he had been suffering from back spasms. So in a quick response, the team shut him down for good.

It was almost immediately claimed that he suffered from no such injury and that since he had already been shut down, he no longer wanted to play.

His camp too claimed that he had already changed his workout routines and was in full offseason mode. In his mind this meant that he was no longer in the appropriate playing shape, and for all we know, believed that he was more likely to injury himself if he were to jump back into the quickness of the NBA game where he would potentially be playing 30+ minutes right away.

Knight has been heaped with the enormity of the fault, and to a degree, rightly so. However, because the Suns had already shut him down for what he believed was for good, the situation that developed when they asked him to replace Bledsoe in the rotation can-not be fairly blamed entirely on him.

Should he have at least allowed himself to at least be played as a backup? Yes. Should he have offered to work himself back into playing shape for several weeks slowly regaining his strength and increasing his minutes? Yes. If he didn’t want to play the first game, or even for a short period of time, should he have at least made a public statement that he is willing to play and wants to be there for his teammates but needed some time to get himself back into shape?

Yes.

But for the Suns to have already shut him down and then on a whim request him to play again, regardless of his reaction, this presents, if nothing else, fault on both sides.

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