LivingLegend wrote:Bonn1997 wrote:LivingLegend wrote:Read a good article on Knight the other day......it basically showed that he was a very good & respected young PG prior to the PHX trade.
Prior to PHX he basically played PG +90% of the time and flourished.
When he was traded to PHX he was forced to share the ball with the likes of Bledsoe/Dragic and his time at PG fell closer to the 50% level with the rest of his time moved to off the ball (SG) and he has NOT been the same since.
He could be a player that needs to know he is the guy (the PG)....he may lose his confidence off the ball and at the same time not feel like a lead guard when he's really not the lead guard. He may also shoot better off the dribble and suffer catching/shooting off the ball.
I have not watched himmuch at all the past few years but at 25 I think he had a great defensive reputation before PHX....I'd rather take an asset to gamble on a 25 year old Knight vs lose an asset for in trading for a 29 year old, often injured Bledsoe.
Maybe in NY Horny puts the ball in his hands...goes uptempo and some of this guys game comes back.
Flourished? He's been really bad every year except 2014-15. You want to play him at PG? He's probably the worst passing PG in the league. He doesn't do enough things well to make up for that. I assume if the Knicks were willing to take back Knight, a deal would be done by now. At least, I'm hoping that's the case.
His last season with the Bucks he was considered one of the top young points in basketball -- yes the 14/15 season. In 55 games prior to the trade he shot 44/41/88 (outstanding) -- he avg. 4.3 RBs, 5.4 assists and 18....plus he was a highly regarded defender.
He goes to Phoenix with a crowded backcourt and is pushed off the ball and his stats plummet...he loses confidence or interest.
I stand by my position....I'd rather receive an extra asset for 25 year old Knight vs give up an asset for 29 year old Bledsoe.
OK but those FG% stats are obsolete now. Overall, his offensive efficiency was only mediocre. Yeah he had outstanding 3 point shooting, but his 2 point shooting (44.8%) was towards the league bottom. The FT% was excellent but that only gave them 3 points a game. His assist:to ratio was towards the bottom of the pack for PGs too. So in that "career year" his offensive rating was 105 points per 100 possessions, which is about average. Basically, when Knight is at his best, he's an average NBA player and when he's at his worst, he barely belongs in the league - at least if you value any of the common metrics.
