Suns attempting to acquire point guard after trading Brandon Knight
Aug 31, 2018, 1:29 PM | Updated: 4:13 pm
(AP photos)
(AP photos)
With Brandon Knight going to the Houston Rockets, the Phoenix Suns need a point guard. Either that or they will start Devin Booker, Shaquille Harrison or a rookie at point guard.
Signs point to another trade, and 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro reports the Suns have been trying to acquire a top-tier name.
Some of those names include Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard, Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker and Boston Celtics point guard Terry Rozier.
Lillard, 28, has three years remaining on his contract and makes roughly $29 million per year. The First Team All-NBA point guard last year averaged 26.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game for Portland. Due to reports of a meeting with ownership in late January and a first-round exit in the playoffs, Lillard has been involved in a fair amount of trade speculation.
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It’s much more cut and dry with Walker. At the age of 28, Walker is on an expiring contract and headed for a huge payday as one of the better point guards in the NBA. He posted 22.1 points and 5.6 assists per game last season. Charlotte also has new decision-makers in charge, hiring Mitch Kupchak as the team’s general manager in late June.
Rozier is the most unproven of the three but is coming off a strong playoff performance with the Celtics. He averaged 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists in the postseason at the age of 24. The Celtics would obviously like to hold onto Rozier, but they are tied up with money, as they recently re-signed Marcus Smart and have player options next offseason on Al Horford and Kyrie Irving to factor in. Rozier will be a restricted free agent next offseason.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported, “the Suns plan to continue pursuing a trade for a starting-level point guard before the regular season.”
Knight is reportedly on the way to Houston with third-year power forward Marquese Chriss in exchange for veteran power forward Ryan Anderson and rookie guard De’Anthony Melton.
Melton, Harrison, rookie Elie Okobo and Isaiah Canaan are currently on the Suns’ roster.
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