Report: Suns not looking to deal Bledsoe; Knight could be another story
Phoenix is in an odd position with a glut of guards, and a strange mix of youth and veterans
By
Matt Moore
•
2 min read
Phoenix has a guard glut, again. The Suns know their future is built around Devin Booker, but with both Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight on big contracts, there's not enough possessions to go around. The Suns have been starting Booker in the preseason, moving Knight to the bench. Phoenix has an odd mix of young and old players; they clearly designed this roster to try to win now, but may wind up having to look at a youth movement.
While Knight is largely assumed to be on the trade block after struggling since being traded from Milwaukee, ESPN's Zach Lowe reports that the Suns are not looking to deal Bledsoe "right now."
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.)
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Notice that there's no clear indication the Suns are actually looking to deal Knight, just that the market may improve for him. That differential is important, though there's a lot of smoke about the Suns looking to trade Knight.
Bledsoe still has a lot of value. He's an absolute monster defensively and shot 37 percent from deep before losing last season to injury. He's versatile and still super athletic, though there's real worry about what injuries will do to that part of his game. It make sense that the Suns would look to keep Bledsoe long-term. He still looks like a good starting point guard.
One key element in the Knight conversation is that several teams are now really hurting for point guards. The Kings are without Darren Collison for eight games, and he's not a great starting option to begin with. The Pistons are without Reggie Jackson for several weeks. Knight is still paid at a starter-level, but could be involved in a move that sends reserve depth to one of those teams and provides a third team a quality scorer in Knight.
Either way, it doesn't seem like the Suns will be moving Bledsoe any time soon. Maybe most notable in this is that for years there have been early, consistent rumors of the Suns looking at trade offers for Bledsoe, though no deal has gotten close to being completed.
