How did Brandon get a +/- of -19. He had one of his best games, no turnovers and only took 11 eleven shots - hitting 5. I guess it is poetic justice... Well, I haven't watched the game yet so maybe that'll make it clear.
Knight was just ineffective when he was out there. Lou Williams put up 35 for the Lakers off their bench also. Most teams use their 6th man similarly in terms of when they see minutes and when they're outplayed like that it usually shows in their +/-. Williams outscored Knight by 21 and Knight was -19 for the game. I know Knight had 12 fewer minutes than Williams but Williams was scoring in bunches and Barbosa was outplaying him.
Barbosa's would be better as the teams 6th man that Knight. Which is sad considering Knight is almost 10 years younger, has more overall talent, and makes about $10 million more a season. Barbosa is a much smarter player though. If Watson, and McD, are really convinced the Suns can turn this year around and make a run of some sort hopefully they've noticed that Barbosa is a better 6th man than Knight and moving Knight would be addition by subtraction. Give him Knight's minutes and let Ulis have Barbosa's minutes. They average 38.1 minutes between them, Knight with 24.8 mpg and Barbosa with 13.3. Trade Knight for a future pick, it doesn't need to be for this season if they can get a future pick with little to no protection. Let Ulis's play determine if he can take more minutes away from him. I'm not for the team trying to get in the playoffs but I'd much rather watch LB than Knight and also see Ulis get minutes every game. I don't think it will make us a playoff team but getting Knight out of here is a plus, no matter how it gets done.
The Suns are 2-1 in games LB has played more than 20 minutes, he averages 24.4 mpg, 15.6 ppg, 2 apg, shot 51% from the field, 71% from 3, and has a +/- of +31 total, being in the positive each of those game. I know the move wouldn't help the team long term but getting the young guys winning has to pay off in their development. We have a lot of young players so adding a top lottery pick isn't as necessary as it was in years past. Playing guys like Booker, Chriss, Len, Ulis, and Warren consistent minutes for a winning team has to help them more than playing the same amount of minutes on a team that finishes with one of the worst records in the league.
