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5-on-5: Should the Suns trade Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight?


With a pair of top-10 draft picks joining the team, is it time for Phoenix to trade away its top guards and fully rebuild? Or should Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe be part of the long-term plans?

Our NBA Insiders debate the future of the Suns.


1. What do you foresee and advise for the Suns this offseason?

Steve Ilardi, ESPN Insider: After sinking to an abysmal 23-59 last season -- their worst record since the Woodstock era -- the Suns have ample incentive to shake things up. The key question: Will they finally go all-in on rebuilding around their young core, or will they keep looking for shortcuts like the Tyson Chandler signing and their fruitless pursuit of LaMarcus Aldridge last summer? I would advise full-on rebuild.

This summer, they should also take a page out of the 2015 Blazers' offseason playbook: Look for the high-value/low-cost young players available via trade or free agency. With their raft of young players and the addition of three promising rookies, the team should spend whatever it takes to build their player development program into a Spurs-caliber juggernaut.

Tom Haberstroh, ESPN Insider: Signing Tyson Chandler and chasing LaMarcus Aldridge felt like a foolish attempt to build a contender overnight, so I'm glad they went with the long play and drafted Dragan Bender. That should be their focus. This was the NBA's worst team for a brutal stretch last season, when it lost 40 of 43 games. The Suns are hopefully building it from scratch.


Jeremias Engelmann, ESPN Insider: I'd advise trying to find a taker for Tyson Chandler. As a center who needs a good point guard to feed him accurate lobs, Chandler is miscast for the Suns. I would not try to sign one of the bigger free agents, as that would just bring the Suns back up to mediocrity and hamper their long-term outlook.

Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Insider: The Suns are one of a few teams with a preponderance of prospects and a fuzzy direction. Public rhetoric from the front office suggests they won't be going into a full rebuild, so it's a moot point to suggest they should do so.

Still, Phoenix needs to avoid long-term entanglements with older players. I would throw my cap space at free agents no older than 27, with Nicolas Batum, Harrison Barnes and possibly Hassan Whiteside looking particularly alluring.

Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider: I advise patience. If the right deal comes along for the likes of Tyson Chandler and Brandon Knight, neither of whom seems to be a fit in Phoenix, the Suns should certainly take it. And if they're concerned that Bledsoe's value is at its peak right now because of his age and series of knee surgeries, this might be the time to strike. But Phoenix's most important offseason work came on draft night.

2. What should the Suns' short-term goals be?

Ilardi: They should embrace the opportunity to grow from within. Their best path back to NBA relevance is to nurture and develop their deep stable of youngsters -- Devin Booker, Alex Len, Archie Goodwin, T.J. Warren, Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss and Tyler Ulis. To make sure the kids have ample opportunity to develop, the team probably needs to offload veterans such as Chandler and Teletovic.

Haberstroh: Forget about the playoffs and unload Bledsoe, P.J. Tucker and Chandler to contenders. This is a rebuild. Devin Booker is still a teenager who won't hit his prime for another half-decade, and the same goes for Bender. Short-term goals should be about maximizing the long term.

Engelmann: Developing their young guys: Warren, Booker, and now Bender and Chriss. I'm not a fan of any of their veterans, so I'd be fine with dealing them away if it meant more playing time for the younger players. The summer of 2017, armed with another high draft pick, is when I think they should be attacking.

Doolittle: Even if the Suns push for the playoffs, they need to avoid squandering the developmental minutes of Booker, Len and this year's rookies on stopgap veterans. The ideal would be to hang in the playoff race, retain payroll flexibility and hope the perception of forward momentum puts Phoenix in the picture for upper-tier free agents.

Pelton: Developing Booker and this year's rookies and figuring out which other players on the roster are keepers. Playing respectably is a good short-term goal. Anything involving a number of wins is not.



3. Can Bledsoe and Knight thrive together in the backcourt?

Haberstroh: Coexist? Yes. That pairing was a respectable plus-4.8 per 100 possessions playing with former Sun Markieff Morris, Tucker and Chandler in 177 minutes of action. That's proof that this backcourt can work, but thriving won't happen with this current roster. I'd suggest shopping Bledsoe, who turns 27 in December, but his knee injury will complicate trade talks.

Engelmann: "Thrive" may be too positive a word here. I don't have grave objections to playing two combo guards, and I believe they can certainly coexist. It worked with Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. Real plus-minus has never been a particular fan of Brandon Knight -- he has rated below minus-2 the past three seasons -- so I think the best solution would be to deal him and go forward with Bledsoe and Booker instead. Knight's stock isn't exactly high, though.

Ilardi: The Bledsoe-Knight Experience has been a bust. Yes, the two are effective partners on offense: Knight's all-around scoring and ability to stretch the floor nicely complement Bledsoe's knack for getting to the rim and making plays in the paint.

But Knight has been a major defensive liability. He's too small to guard opposing SGs, but too slow (laterally) to stay in front of opposing PGs. And Knight's awful minus-3.1 predictive real plus-minus (RPM) suggests that the Suns vastly overpaid for him last summer. They should try to deal him this summer to make room for Devin Booker, their true emerging star at the 2-guard position.

Doolittle: I don't like them as a starting backcourt, especially when you've got bona fide 2-guards such as Booker and Archie Goodwin on the upswing. Knight's defense isn't tenable for a 35-MPG player. Since he can play with the ball or off it, and has combo-guard size, I see his path being similar to that of Jamal Crawford.

Pelton: I think they can. Though both Bledsoe and Knight were somewhat more prolific playing separately than together, they were also less efficient. The Bledsoe-Knight backcourt might not be ideal defensively, but I think the greater challenge to it is the desire to find a starting spot for Booker rather than specific problems with the pairing on the court.

4. What's a Suns trade you would like to see?

Ilardi: If I were still working in the Suns' front office, I would suggest shopping Knight to find a taker on his bloated 5-year, $70 million contract. Since Sacramento arguably has the league's least savvy front office, they'd be good place to start the search.

A deal of Knight (minus-3.1 RPM) for PG Darren Collison (0.1 RPM), Omri Casspi (0.7) and Ben McLemore (-1.6) works under the cap and gives Phoenix three serviceable rotation pieces -- all with only one remaining year under contract -- to add to their young nucleus.

Haberstroh: A sign-and-trade centered on Chandler for Houston's Donatas Motiejunas (a restricted free agent this summer).

Houston will be looking for a veteran center to replace Dwight Howard. Chandler played for Mike D'Antoni in New York, so they have a history. If the Cavs hadn't won the title, I'd suggest Bledsoe, a client of LeBron James' same agency, for either Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love, but that ship sailed when that trio won it all.

Engelmann: In a best-case scenario, they deal their two most awful contracts in Knight and Chandler, who make a combined $26 million next season while being below-average NBA players. Chandler for a pick to New York, if the Knicks can't land a free-agent center, seems like an option. Knight might be tough to deal, but I could see the Kings being interested if Rajon Rondo signs elsewhere.

Doolittle: Chandler belongs on a contender. And with Len heading into his fourth year, they've got to find out if he can be the long-term center. Cleveland makes sense as a destination -- Chandler could replace Timofey Mozgov -- with Channing Frye returning to fill the Suns' leadership void. You'd likely need a third team to make the salaries work.

Pelton: Tucker to Cleveland for the rights to Cedi Osman. The Suns would be wise to cash in on Tucker's trade value while he's in the last year of his contract. His $5.3 million salary looks like a bargain compared to the market for 3-and-D role players. He could be an upgraded version of Richard Jefferson for the Cavaliers as a combo forward, and Phoenix would get the rights to the promising Osman, the No. 31 pick in 2015 who turned 21 in April.

5. If the Suns were a stock and you were looking ahead five years, would you buy, sell or hold?

Engelmann: Buy. When you've won 23 games, there aren't many directions to go but up. The Suns would've won more had Bledsoe played more than 31 games. And keep in mind, Suns owner Robert Sarver isn't exactly a fan of a long rebuilding effort, so the Suns will try to compete. The question, then, is whether they'll find themselves in "no man's land" again, winning around 40 games.


Ilardi: Buy. If the Suns' hypothetical share price today is a mere 23 (their win total last season), they're pretty much a lock to double investors' money -- to reach 46 wins -- over the next five years. They may not be much better next season, but barring gross front office malpractice, they simply have too many young assets not to rise back to respectability within the next 3-5 years.

Haberstroh: Hold. I'm not keen on buying a stock run by Robert Sarver, who blamed last year's demise on millennial culture and scapegoated Markieff Morris. I'm not sure about Earl Watson's capabilities as a head coach yet, so it's hard for me to buy. That said, I like the foundation of Booker, Bender and Len. It has been a rough start for general manager Ryan McDonough, but the pieces are there.

Doolittle: Hold. There is plenty to work with, and Booker looks as if he can become a true foundational player. But I want to see more of all these young players before I truly buy in. I also want a clearer sense of what style of basketball the Suns will be playing on both ends of the floor under Earl Watson.

Pelton: Buy, depending on the price. I'm higher on Bender than just about anyone else is, and if he's as good as I think, and Booker is as good as everyone else thinks (I remain a tad skeptical given his atrocious defensive stats), the Suns have a core in place with plenty more draft picks on the way.

1. What do you foresee and advise for the Suns this offseason?

Steve Ilardi, ESPN Insider: After sinking to an abysmal 23-59 last season -- their worst record since the Woodstock era -- the Suns have ample incentive to shake things up. The key question: Will they finally go all-in on rebuilding around their young core, or will they keep looking for shortcuts like the Tyson Chandler signing and their fruitless pursuit of LaMarcus Aldridge last summer? I would advise full-on rebuild.

This summer, they should also take a page out of the 2015 Blazers' offseason playbook: Look for the high-value/low-cost young players available via trade or free agency. With their raft of young players and the addition of three promising rookies, the team should spend whatever it takes to build their player development program into a Spurs-caliber juggernaut.

Tom Haberstroh, ESPN Insider: Signing Tyson Chandler and chasing LaMarcus Aldridge felt like a foolish attempt to build a contender overnight, so I'm glad they went with the long play and drafted Dragan Bender. That should be their focus. This was the NBA's worst team for a brutal stretch last season, when it lost 40 of 43 games. The Suns are hopefully building it from scratch.


Jeremias Engelmann, ESPN Insider: I'd advise trying to find a taker for Tyson Chandler. As a center who needs a good point guard to feed him accurate lobs, Chandler is miscast for the Suns. I would not try to sign one of the bigger free agents, as that would just bring the Suns back up to mediocrity and hamper their long-term outlook.

Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Insider: The Suns are one of a few teams with a preponderance of prospects and a fuzzy direction. Public rhetoric from the front office suggests they won't be going into a full rebuild, so it's a moot point to suggest they should do so.

Still, Phoenix needs to avoid long-term entanglements with older players. I would throw my cap space at free agents no older than 27, with Nicolas Batum, Harrison Barnes and possibly Hassan Whiteside looking particularly alluring.

Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider: I advise patience. If the right deal comes along for the likes of Tyson Chandler and Brandon Knight, neither of whom seems to be a fit in Phoenix, the Suns should certainly take it. And if they're concerned that Bledsoe's value is at its peak right now because of his age and series of knee surgeries, this might be the time to strike. But Phoenix's most important offseason work came on draft night.

2. What should the Suns' short-term goals be?

Ilardi: They should embrace the opportunity to grow from within. Their best path back to NBA relevance is to nurture and develop their deep stable of youngsters -- Devin Booker, Alex Len, Archie Goodwin, T.J. Warren, Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss and Tyler Ulis. To make sure the kids have ample opportunity to develop, the team probably needs to offload veterans such as Chandler and Teletovic.

Haberstroh: Forget about the playoffs and unload Bledsoe, P.J. Tucker and Chandler to contenders. This is a rebuild. Devin Booker is still a teenager who won't hit his prime for another half-decade, and the same goes for Bender. Short-term goals should be about maximizing the long term.

Engelmann: Developing their young guys: Warren, Booker, and now Bender and Chriss. I'm not a fan of any of their veterans, so I'd be fine with dealing them away if it meant more playing time for the younger players. The summer of 2017, armed with another high draft pick, is when I think they should be attacking.

Doolittle: Even if the Suns push for the playoffs, they need to avoid squandering the developmental minutes of Booker, Len and this year's rookies on stopgap veterans. The ideal would be to hang in the playoff race, retain payroll flexibility and hope the perception of forward momentum puts Phoenix in the picture for upper-tier free agents.

Pelton: Developing Booker and this year's rookies and figuring out which other players on the roster are keepers. Playing respectably is a good short-term goal. Anything involving a number of wins is not.

3. Can Bledsoe and Knight thrive together in the backcourt?

4. What's a Suns trade you would like to see?

A deal of Knight (minus-3.1 RPM) for PG Darren Collison (0.1 RPM), Omri Casspi (0.7) and Ben McLemore (-1.6) works under the cap and gives Phoenix three serviceable rotation pieces -- all with only one remaining year under contract -- to add to their young nucleus.

Shabazz wrote:

A deal of Knight (minus-3.1 RPM) for PG Darren Collison (0.1 RPM), Omri Casspi (0.7) and Ben McLemore (-1.6) works under the cap and gives Phoenix three serviceable rotation pieces -- all with only one remaining year under contract -- to add to their young nucleus.

I would say yes to this so fast...

Shabazz wrote:

A deal of Knight (minus-3.1 RPM) for PG Darren Collison (0.1 RPM), Omri Casspi (0.7) and Ben McLemore (-1.6) works under the cap and gives Phoenix three serviceable rotation pieces -- all with only one remaining year under contract -- to add to their young nucleus.

I would say yes to this so fast...

Flagrant Fowl wrote:

Shabazz wrote:

A deal of Knight (minus-3.1 RPM) for PG Darren Collison (0.1 RPM), Omri Casspi (0.7) and Ben McLemore (-1.6) works under the cap and gives Phoenix three serviceable rotation pieces -- all with only one remaining year under contract -- to add to their young nucleus.

I would say yes to this so fast...

I would also jump on this deal if it was possible. Collision (domestic abuse) and Casspi (essentially worthless) could be benched or bought out immediately, and I'd take McLemore for Knight straight up right now.

ShelC wrote:Thanks for posting! Nothing earth shattering, but good to see some of them see the same things we do. I've been thinking about Chandler/PJ/Knight to Houston in some form. I think Chandler would be an ideal center on that team but not sure we'd get much back in return.

Sactown makes the most sense for Knight IMO and maybe there's some good communication after the draft night dealing.

Shabazz wrote:

A deal of Knight (minus-3.1 RPM) for PG Darren Collison (0.1 RPM), Omri Casspi (0.7) and Ben McLemore (-1.6) works under the cap and gives Phoenix three serviceable rotation pieces -- all with only one remaining year under contract -- to add to their young nucleus.

I would say yes to this so fast...

I'm not interested in selling Knight for scraps. Let's see how he does as a gunner off the bench.

Superbone wrote:We need to trade him to a team that has somebody named Daye. That way they could make a big difference of Knight and Daye. Alternatively, we should equip him in some gold Under Armour and then he could be another team's Knight in shining armor.

ShelC wrote:

I'm not interested in selling Knight for scraps. Let's see how he does as a gunner off the bench.

This is such a flawed mentality. A little bit of something is better than nothing or better than going through another season with two PGs who can't play together or having a disgruntled max guy playing off the bench wanting a trade to a team where he can start (which takes away our leverage). Cut your losses and move on. Addition by subtraction.