NBA Rumors: Suns Unloading Tyson Chandler & Brandon Knight This Offseason, According To ‘Basketball Insiders’
With the direction they are currently taking, the Phoenix Suns no longer see the need to keep Tyson Chandler on their roster. They tried moving him before the February 8 trade deadline but failed to find an ideal trade partner. In the upcoming offseason, the Suns are expected to make Chandler available again on the trade market together with other veterans on hefty contracts.
The Suns’ decision to move Eric Bledsoe to the Milwaukee Bucks is a clear sign that they plan to undergo a full-scale rebuild. They have never been a serious threat in the Western Conference for years, and the only thing they can do now is to surround Devin Booker with quality players. David Yakopwitz of Basketball Insiders listed ways on how the Suns can improve in the coming years. These include trading some of their veterans this summer.
“The Suns should also look to move some of their veterans on hefty contracts if they’re able to. Tyson Chandler still has another year left on his deal and could surely help a contending team in need of some additional muscle in the frontcourt. Brandon Knight, on the other hand, will be a bit more difficult to move. He’ll be coming off an ACL injury and, with the trade deadline arrival of Payton, he no longer appears to be the Suns point guard moving forward. He also has two more years left on his deal.”
Tyson Chandler may not already be in his prime, but he could still be helpful to a team who needs a boost in terms of rim protection and rebounding. Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough’s recent interview with Scott Bordow of AZCentral proved that Phoenix is ready to move on from Chandler. McDonough said that center is “slightly higher” priority than point guard in the upcoming 2018 NBA draft. If they get the No. 1 overall pick, Bordow believes the Suns will use it to acquire Arizona Wildcats center DeAndre Ayton.
Ayton offers the same skillset as Chandler. In 31 regular-season games, he averaged 19.9 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks on 61.6 percent shooting from the field and 34.4 percent from the three-point range. Unfortunately, the Suns aren’t the only team keeping an eye on Ayton. A previous Inquisitr report revealed that the Memphis Grizzlies, who currently hold the worst record in the league, are also interested in adding the 7-foot-1 center to their team.
Meanwhile, Brandon Knight missed the entire 2017-18 NBA season after suffering a torn ACL last summer. The addition of Elfrid Payton before the trade deadline showed that the Suns no longer need him on their team. Unfortunately, as Yakopwitz noted, Knight’s recent injury and the remaining two years left on his contract could make it hard for the Suns to move him this summer. However, when healthy and given enough playing time, Knight proves to be a good contributor on the offensive end of the floor.
