Fantasy Basketball: How Should We Treat the Phoenix Suns' Backcourt?
Draft Brandon Knight Late
It's clear that this news affects Knight in negative way. He's very unlikely to see 36 minutes per game like he did a year ago. On the plus side, he will be the team's unquestioned sixth man, and he'll be one of the best in the NBA off the bench.
#Suns Watson, "We want all of our players who step on the court to feel like starters"; added Knight now in discussion for Sixth Man of Year
— Craig Grialou (@CraigAZSports) October 3, 2016
Now, you could be thinking that it's ridiculous of me to even suggest picking Knight late. I have to say that you're wrong, and here's why.
Last year, Knight averaged 19.6 points -- on 17.2 field goal attempts per game -- and 5.1 assists on a usage rate of 26.2%. Even in more limited time, Knight will have the ball in his hands and will get the ball up frequently. These were the same reasons Knight finished last year as a seventh-round pick, providing the most value in the categories of points, threes, and assists, according to Basketball Monster.
Knight's ADP of 63, according to FantasyPros, is way too high -- even for a bona fide starter. It's a little more reasonable in Yahoo! leagues (74.3) opposed to ESPN leagues (65.7). It's completely inappropriate when you look back and see that Knight's production was that of a seventh-rounder a year ago. He's more suited to be a 9th- or 10th-round pick, so plan accordingly.
