According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Houston Rockets trade Ryan Anderson and De’Anthony Melton to the Phoenix Suns for Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss.
At first glance, the Rockets might look as the losers in this trade. After all, they lost Anderson who was Houston's starting forward for more than 50 games last season and a second-round pick rookie, De’Anthony Melton, who turned heads at the Summer League, averaging 16.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game
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Nevertheless, the “Clutch City” had been trying to trade Ryan Anderson to get rid of his $41 million left on his contract and make some salary cap space. Besides, the 30-year-old was relegated to a bench role before last season's All-Star break and got limited minutes on the court in the playoffs, so he was no longer part of the team plans. Moreover, in return, they got Brandon Knight, a point guard who generated a lot of expectations playing in Milwaukee before getting traded to the Suns where he only played five games last season due to a torn ACL. Knight will be a great Chris Paul’s backup. As for Marquese Criss, he was a 2016 rookie selection who hasn’t find his game in the NBA yet, but perhaps playing along with All-Stars players caliber could help to boost his game.
So, this actually looks like a great move by the Rockets, although they had to sacrifice a promising rookie.
However, it’s hard to see how well this trade is going to work for the Suns. Firstly, because they lost Knight who was supposed to be their starting point guard for this season. Now, they will have to either find someone before the start of the season or turn Devin Booker into their full-time playmaker. Wojnarowski reported that the franchise plan is to “to pursue trade scenarios to bring on a starting-caliber point guard before the start of the season.”
Regarding Anderson’s role in the Suns, as reported by Wojnarowski, he is projected to become the starting power forward, which are great news for them since he will reinforce their big man rotation. Moreover, a veteran in the locker room it wouldn’t hurt at all.