Knight works hard in adjusted role
DALLAS – Brandon Knight takes a corner 3 and keeps on going. One after another. Three makes, four, five in a row. After 10, he moves to the wing and fires. No good. “Ahh!” Knight groans. Once again, Knight is the last off the court at the Suns’ morning shootaround. This is how it is most days, even after the sixth-year guard was benched to get the team’s younger players on the court. Knight – who once appeared on an All-Star path – hasn’t played since the All-Star break, a stretch of eight games entering Saturday’s contest against the Mavericks.
“This is what I do,” Knight said after he fired the last jumper, his teammates already boarding the team bus. “It’s what I’ve done my entire life. It’s how I survive. It’s how I made it, so no matter what’s going on, I’m never going to stop being the hardest worker.”
Knight just turned 25 in December. Sometimes that’s easy to forget. In 2011, the Detroit Pistons selected him with the draft’s eighth overall pick. Since then, he has experienced the highs and lows of professional basketball. After two seasons in Detroit, the Pistons traded him to Milwaukee. During the 2013-14 season, he averaged team highs of 17.9 points and 4.9 assists.
The next year, Knight was so good during the season’s first half that thenMiami guard Dwyane Wade lobbied for Knight to replace him on the Eastern Conference All-Star team. (Wade had to withdraw because of a hamstring issue.) A week later, the Bucks traded him to the Suns in a three-team deal. At season’s end, the Suns signed Knight – who had played just 11 games with Phoenix because of injuries – to a five-year extension worth $70 million.
Last year, Knight was not always efficient but productive, averaging 19.6 points and 5.1 assists. Before this season, coach Earl Watson named Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker as his starting guards, moving Knight to a sixthman role. It’s worked out well for Bledsoe and Booker, but not so much for Knight, who provided scoring off the bench but not much ball movement.
Perhaps the most damning evidence: Before the All-Star break, with Knight running the second team, the Suns averaged 18.6 assists, tied for last in the NBA. Since then, with rookie Tyler Ulis running the second team, the Suns have averaged 24 assists, which ranks seventh. Over the same stretch, Phoenix’s field-goal percentage has gone from 44.6 percent (21st in the league) to 50.1 (second).
Knight’s approach during this stretch: “Just being myself,” he said. “Trusting the type of person that I am and knowing that I always try to do things the right way. This season’s been a little different, a little difficult. An adjustment. I’m trying to do things the right way. Whether I’m playing 30 minutes, 35 minutes, 15 minutes, 10 minutes or not playing at all, I’m going to continue to be the hardest worker.”
At the trade deadline, Knight’s name surfaced frequently, but according to reports, there wasn’t much interest, especially with more than $40 million remaining on his contract. Asked if he expected to be dealt, Knight said he was ready for anything.
“I’ve been traded twice already,’’ he said. “There were times when I didn’t expect to be traded, there were times when I thought I might be traded. It’s always an option. I knew there was a possibility I could stay or be gone.”
Knight isn’t the only Suns player experiencing this. Veteran center Tyson Chandler – a starter all season – also has been held out. Chandler has taken on a mentor role. During timeouts, he often offers instruction to Alex Len, who took his starting spot. Knight also has stayed supportive, but in his own way.
“He understands the opportunity to play is going to come back around and he’s going to be well prepared,’’ Watson said. “His mindset is to just work harder. He has more time to exhaust his body instead of saving it for games, and he’s taking advantage of that.”
Knight insists he has perspective.