Could Brandon Knight Be in the Sacramento Kings Future?
By Kareem Gantt
With all due respect to Darren Collision, who has done a pretty admirable job as the Sacramento Kings starting point guard this season, it is becoming painfully obvious that Sacramento should be in the buyer’s market for a starting point guard when the offseason rolls around, and the player that the Kings should chase after is Brandon Knight.
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Before you all crucify me, just hear me out. Collision has been a serviceable lead starter for the Kings this season, but in a conference that is stacked at the point guard position, serviceable is not going to get your team into the playoffs. The Kings need a lead guard who can not only distribute the ball with efficiency, they need a lead guard who can create their own shot at the basket.
Granted, Collision can do both of these things, but not nearly at the clip that Knight can, and to make things even more enticing, Knight is just entering the prime of his career.
Knight was having a career year with the Milwaukie Bucks, averaging 17 points and five assist a game, before the Bucks shocked everybody by suddenly sending him to the Phoenix Suns. One of the reasons why the Bucks panic traded Knight was the fact that he will be a restricted free agent this summer, and the Bucks didn’t want to roll the dice on matching a ginormous contract offer by another team.
With salary coming off the books for the Kings at the end of the year, Sacramento’s front office would be wise to try to entice the talented point guard to take a chance on Sacramento. But the question is: “Will Sacramento be willing to open up the checkbook to get him?”
If a team overpays for Knight, I don’t see the Suns taking the chance to match that type of a contract, so if the Kings are willing to overpay to get a starting point guard who is just coming into his prime, it would be an investment that will be well worth it. Knight is no longer the player who got destroyed by DeAndre Jordan a couple of years ago:
He is now a complete point guard who can run a team with precision. His court vision has gotten much better, and his offense has also grown by leaps and bounds, as he is hitting over 40 percent of his three-pointers, making him one of the leagues deadliest long-range threats. In Youtube form, Knight is this player now:
And signing Knight will work out for Collision too, as he would become a sixth man option off the bench, solving the Kings backup point guard woes and making Collison even more efficient. It’s a win-win scenario.
Knight should be at or near the top of the free agent list for the Kings. Knight would instantly propel the Kings into playoff contenders in 2016-17 and for the foreseeable future, and let’s face it, Knight would look so much better in Kings’ colors.