Suns’ McDonough: ‘fans haven’t seen the real Brandon Knight’
Jun 24, 2016, 2:00 PM
Phoenix Suns guard Brandon Knight celebrates after hitting a key basket against the Denver Nuggets late in the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Nov. 20, 2015, in Denver. Phoenix won 114-107. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Despite rumors swirling that Brandon Knight could be on the move, it seems like the point guard is here to stay.
With Knight still on board, the key will be to keep the 24-year-old on the court. He has missed 47 of 110 possible games since being acquired by Phoenix at the 2015 trade deadline.
A left ankle sprain hindered Knight shortly after the trade, causing him to miss 16 of the Suns’ final 17 games. Then, this past season, he dealt with a sore groin and a sports hernia, keeping him out of a combined 30 games.
Suns general manager Ryan McDonough was optimistic that Phoenix has not seen the best of Knight yet when he spoke with Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Friday.
“I think Brandon is a competitive guy, he’s started most of his career in NBA. I feel like Suns fans haven’t seen the real Brandon Knight,” McDonough said.
He continued, “he was a borderline All-Star a year ago in Milwaukee. He was the player that Dwyane Wade said, I think Dwyane was injured or somebody on the Eastern Conference All-Star team was injured, they asked him who do you think should make the team and he said ‘Brandon Knight.'”
The Suns are Knight’s third team in just five NBA seasons. In his first full season with Phoenix, he enjoyed a career year, averaging 19.6 points, 5.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
According to McDonough, Knight believes he can do better than what he’s done for Phoenix so far.
“I don’t think he’s performed as well as he would like here in Phoenix, but I think everyone should be patient with him,” McDonough said. “He’s a talented young guy, who works extremely hard in his game. I think he’s finally healthy.”
The star potential is there when he is healthy.
The former Kentucky Wildcat enjoyed his best month of the season in November, which included a triple-double against the Lakers where he scored 30 points, had 15 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Four days later, Knight scored 38 points, snagged 11 rebounds and finished with six assists against the Nuggets.
