Zach Lowe: Tension between Knight and Bledsoe, Knight wants to "pure PG"

[sunsfan88]

Zach Lowe posted a brilliant article highlighting the Suns season and its problems.

I highly recommend clicking the actual link below and reading the whole thing because it talks about lot more than just the relationship between Knight and Bledsoe. I wanted to post the full thing but I know forum rules prohibit that due to copyright reasons but here are the parts I found interesting

As I've written before, the weird series of deals in which Phoenix effectively exchanged Isaiah Thomas and a lightly-protected first-round pick from the Lakers -- top-3 protected in both '16 and 17, then unprotected and one of the most valuable trade chips in the league -- for Brandon Knight and a Cleveland first-rounder will almost certainly end up a net-loss. Depending on the fate of that Lakers pick, protected if it's top-3 this season and unprotected afterward, it could be a devastating net loss the franchise regrets for years. There are reasonable ways to defend the deals, but Phoenix clearly sold low on Thomas and his insanely cheap contract; he might be better than Knight straight up, even without Knight's positional versatility. There is real opportunity cost there, and in spending cap space on Tyson Chandler.

But chaos takes its toll anyway. The Detroit trade alienated Markieff Morris, and he has failed horribly to deliver on his promise as a playmaking four around those Chandler pick-and-rolls. The Knight-Bledsoe pairing has been awkward, and has created some minor locker-room tension, according to sources familiar with the matter. Both thrive as lead ball-handlers, and Knight has bristled over the years whenever anyone has labeled him as something other than a pure point guard.

It's hard to know from the outside how much of this is on Hornacek and his staff, including the deposed Longabardi, a Tom Thibodeau acolyte in charge of the defense. (Longabardi is a smart, workaholic coach who will land on his feet -- perhaps with Thibodeau). Morris has checked out. Bledsoe should be an elite defender, but he half-asses his way through too many possessions. Chandler's hamstring injury hurt. The rotation has been in disarray. Warren and Booker have done well on offense, but they're understandably behind on the other end. Both received spot starts, but it's clear Hornacek trusts the veteran know-how of Tucker and others.

Len and Chandler have flip-flopped starter and backup roles, highlighting Chandler's awkward fit. The Suns signed Chandler as a lure for Aldridge, and talked optimistically about how they could find enough minutes for both Chandler and Len. Aldridge chose the Spurs, and now Chander is just kind of here -- playing 35 minutes one night, 15 the next, the threat of his lob dunk neutered by working in so-so spacing with score-first guards who love pull-up jumpers. Playing five-man defense on a string takes chemistry, and this hasn't been the best environment for developing it.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14451352/the-suns-belief-competitive-building-future-taken-toll

And those who know about NBA journalism knows that Zach Lowe is no hack like Chris Broussard or something. He's one of the more respected journalists out there and used to hold a high position for the former Grantland. I would trust his sources, he does not have the reputation to create noise for clicks and page hits.

 

[overseascardfan]

IMO, one of them has to go. Neither are comfortable off the ball, they need it in their hands to be effective. If I had a preference, I'd keep Knight as he is younger and healthier. Bledsoe may be the better all around player but his injury history is a big concern plus he may bring back more in a trade when healthy.

PHX gets a chance to see what Knight can do as the primary ball handling PG with a true SG (Booker hopefully next to him). Hopefully Bledsoe can come back before the trade deadline to gauge his trade value.

Knight was an all star caliber PG in MIL before being traded to PHX so it's not like PHX can't build around him.

 

[slinslin]

Knight was an all star caliber PG in MIL before being traded to PHX so it's not like PHX can't build around him.

no he was not

 

[Absolute Zero]

The Knight-Bledsoe pairing has been awkward, and has created some minor locker-room tension...

Oh my goodness!

 

[elindholm]

I can't take anything Knight says seriously until he stops making the contested 21-footer his #1 weapon. The PG needs to figure out what the best shot is for his whole team; how can Knight do that when he's so clueless about his own shot selection?

 

[JS22]

I can't take anything Knight says seriously until he stops making the contested 21-footer his #1 weapon. The PG needs to figure out what the best shot is for his whole team; how can Knight do that when he's so clueless about his own shot selection?

Knight has started to fall in love with that shot and it's frustrating. Especially when you see how well he can take someone off the dribble. The Knight of the first half of this stretch was playing at an all-star level. The Knight of the second half seems lazy and content with taking crappy shots.

 

[Matt L]

I would trade whichever guy you could get the most value for.

 

[95pro]

I liked what I saw last night from Knight as far as the offensive flow is concerned. It was one game so we shall see how he does being the primary ball handler.

 

[SirStefan32]

This isn't surprising. We saw what happened with IT and Dragic, and McD decided to bring in another combo guard. Granted, I do think he is less of a terrible fit with Bledsoe than Dragic and IT were, but he is still not a good fit. Two guys who need the ball are never a good fit together. We see it in Miami too, so it's not limited to Phoenix.

I am also glad he called out Bledsoe for half-assing it on defense. He's gotten much better offensively (he even looks like something that resembles a point guard), but his defense has been disappointing.

EDIT:
Just to be fair, I wanted to point out that Knight knew damn well what he was signing up for (much like Dragic knew what he was signing up for in Miami), so I have very little sympathy for Knight (or Dragic, for that matter.) If you want to be the primary ball-handler, don't sign with teams that already have primary ball-handlers.

 

[Catlover]

The pairing of 2 combo guards worked when we could spread the court but we haven't been able to do that since we parted ways with Frye. It hasn't worked since then. Right now (1 game), Knight seems to be benefitting from playing in a more traditional lineup.

 

[sunsfan88]

The pairing of 2 combo guards worked when we could spread the court but we haven't been able to do that since we parted ways with Frye. It hasn't worked since then. Right now (1 game), Knight seems to be benefitting from playing in a more traditional lineup.

Suns tried to bring in Tolliver/Teletovic to do what Frye did but that hasn't worked either.

 

[hcsilla]

I don't understand what was so encouraging in Knight's play yesterday, especially regarding his PG duties.

He didn't do anything which resembles a PG. I honestly think that Devin Booker has better passing skills and knows more about what a PG has to do than Knight does.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

EDIT:
Just to be fair, I wanted to point out that Knight knew damn well what he was signing up for (much like Dragic knew what he was signing up for in Miami), so I have very little sympathy for Knight (or Dragic, for that matter.) If you want to be the primary ball-handler, don't sign with teams that already have primary ball-handlers.

Well said. When things are going well, these guys are fine with it, as soon as they go south, let the whining begin. Pretty disappointing.

 

[overseascardfan]

no he was not

The year he was traded he was averaging 17.7/5.4/4.3/1.6, he shot 42% from the field but shot over 40% from 3pt range. His stat line was nearly identical to Bledsoe's first year in PHX.

Like in the West where Bledsoe was blocked by Paul & Curry, Knight in 2014 was blocked by Irving & Wall but Knight was having an all star like year. We'll have to see how the rest of the year plays out.

 

[Sunburn]

I can't take anything Knight says seriously until he stops making the contested 21-footer his #1 weapon. The PG needs to figure out what the best shot is for his whole team; how can Knight do that when he's so clueless about his own shot selection?

Absolutely agree. I'm getting very frustrated with Knight taking the most inefficient shot in basketball so often, usually with plenty of time left on the shot clock. Any player should know better than this, but especially your point guard, who's job is to run the offense as efficiently as possible. It needs to stop, or he needs to go, because he'll never be a truly effective pg if it continues.

 

[Catlover]

Maybe we should adopt a version of the SSOL team with Bledsoe out. Our defense isn't getting it done and while Knight is no Nash, he does push the tempo well. And our bigs are fairly mobile. It would hide some of our half-court deficiencies.

 

[Chaz]

The real problem isn't two point guards but no point guards.

And the IT and Knight trades were separate deals. Conflating them is a mistake I think.

 

[Catlover]

The real problem isn't two point guards but no point guards.

And the IT and Knight trades were separate deals. Conflating them is a mistake I think.

Yes but if we don't trade Thomas we probably never make a move for Knight so in that sense they are somewhat linked. I'm not sure why we made the IT deal once Goran demanded his trade. OTOH, I'm not sure we'd have ever given Thomas the freedom and support that Brad Stevens has.

 

[hcsilla]

I'm not sure why we made the IT deal once Goran demanded his trade.

Because there is no way that Thomas could create a starting backcourt with Bledsoe and Thomas was already whining that he wants to start.

OTOH, I'm not sure we'd have ever given Thomas the freedom and support that Brad Stevens has.

I'm not sure that Brad Steven would have done that if he had Bledsoe on their roster.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Just a thought. Ty Lawson is in a "buy low" situation and he is a pass first pg (at least closer than anything we have). He has been able to produce at all star levels in the past.

Just a thought.

 

[PDXChris]

no he was not

http://basketball.realgm.com/analys...Knight-Got-Himself-Into-All-Star-Conversation

Regardless of whether or not he’s named an All-Star by the league’s coaches, many already consider Knight to be of that caliber. Erik Spoelstra praised the four-year veteran this week without revealing how he voted.

“Brandon Knight is underrated, whether he makes the All-Star team or not,” Spoelstra said. “I think everybody views him as an All-Star.”

Many pundits predicting the seven Eastern reserves have Knight on the fringe, likely needing to edge out bigger names (Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving, Derrick Rose) for a spot.

Looks like he was viewed that way at one time.

 

[sunsfan88]

Just a thought. Ty Lawson is in a "buy low" situation and he is a pass first pg (at least closer than anything we have). He has been able to produce at all star levels in the past.

Just a thought.

I don't think the citizens of Arizona would be able to drive peacefully on the streets of Phoenix with both Tucker and Lawson in town.