Suns' Brandon Knight: Will come off bench to open season

Suns coach Earl Watson said Monday that Knight would open the season as the Suns' sixth man, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Analysis:

Watson said Knight was receptive of the move to the second unit, but it has to be somewhat of a blow to his ego after he started 50 of 52 games last season before his campaign ended early due to a sports hernia. While Knight and fellow backcourt starter Eric Bledsoe (knee) were sidelined for large chunks of the season, rookie Devin Booker proved himself as a potential franchise building block, averaging 18.3 points, 3.7 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 three-pointers in 35.0 minutes per game from January onward. Though Knight and Bledsoe are both back to full health entering 2016-17, it's clear that the organization values Booker as its top asset in the backcourt, as evidenced by Knight's move to the bench along with the fact that both of the veterans' names have routinely showed up in trade rumors this summer. While no moves are imminent, it looks like Knight may have to somewhat of a backseat this season in order to accommodate an increased role for Booker. Knight still figures to benefit from a starter's workload and will see the court alongside Booker and Bledsoe on select occasions, but it will be difficult to replicate the 19.6 points, 5.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 three-pointers he averaged over 36.0 minutes per game a season ago.