On August 31st 2018 Ryan Anderson and the Houston Rockets were involved in a huge 4 player trade. Ryan Anderson and rookie DeAnthony Melton will head to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Brandon Knight and Marquess Chriss. This trade sees highs and lows for both teams, although the Suns have been quoted saying that they are not done with trades and that they need to acquire a starting PG in a trade.

The Houston Rockets got the better of the exchange receiving a backup point guard and a backup power forward to their already stacked starting 5. With a starting line up of Carmelo Anthony, James Harden, Chris Paul, PJ Tucker, and Clint Capela, it looked to be the smartest move to bring in the offensive savvy Knight and the defensive anchor Chriss. Brandon Knight is known for being a point guard that is best when playing off the ball. Eric Gordon is a shooting guard that plays better when he is able to facilitate and have the ball in his hands. This should make for a great one two punch coming off the bench out of the back court.
Overall trade grade: B+

The Phoenix Suns have also set themselves up to be in a better situation then before much like the Rockets. They lose Knight who they were looking to get rid of since he got hurt last season, and Chriss who is easily replaced by Ryan Anderson. They bring in rookie DeAnthony Melton who is seriously flying under the radar this off season. The middle second round pick had a impressive last year at USC and is a great physical size for a modern day guard in the NBA.

One could compare him to someone like Donovan Mitchell from last years draft. Even though the trade leaves the Suns very slim at the Guard position, they have already announced they are looking to make moves to bring in a starting guard. They have a log jam at the forward position with the likes of Trevor Ariza, TJ Warren, Josh Jackson, Dragan Bender, and Mikal Bridges. Rookies Mikal Bridges and second year player Josh Jackson may be on the trade block seeing how Jackson had a pretty good year last year. The only other person on their team that may be valuable enough to get a starting point guard out of is Dragan Bender. Just like Jackson he is a young player who has showed that he can really play in this league.

Overall trade grade C-

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