Suns land Knight, Bucks get Carter-Williams in 3-team deal

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Three teams made an enormous splash in swapping guards, and they did it at the very last minute before the trade deadline.

After moving Goran Dragic to the Miami Heat and Isaiah Thomas to the Boston Celtics, the Phoenix Suns moved quickly to land a new point guard, acquiring Brandon Knight from the Milwaukee Bucks, the team announced.

In doing so, the Suns sent Miles Plumlee and Tyler Ennis to the Bucks, who also received reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams from the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers received the Los Angeles Lakers' 2015 first-round pick, top-five protected, from the Suns.

So, to keep all of this straight:

• BUCKS: Trade Knight, receive Plumlee, Ennis and Carter-Williams
• SUNS: Trade Plumlee, Ennis, Lakers' first-round pick, receive Knight
• 76ers: Trade Carter-Williams, receive Lakers' first-round pick

This is an incredible three-team shakeup, largely involving names that weren't believe to be firmly on the market.

The Sixers' involvement, in particular, comes out of nowhere. While the team has reportedly been open to dealing Carter-Williams for some time, his improved play on the defensive end and apparent budding chemistry with other young pieces on the team made it seem as if that may no longer be the case.

But Philadelphia remained in full pick-acquisition mode Thursday, dealing Carter-Williams' running mate K.J. McDaniels for a second-round pick and flipping the point guard for a valuable first-rounder. 

The 76ers may not see the pick this season, as the Lakers own the fourth-worst record and need only a top-five pick to keep the pick - something that would happen 82.8 percent of the time if they finish 27th overall - but it will hold appreciable value in future years as well. This strongly points to the Sixers' plan for success still being a multi-season endeavor, not something that, as their 2015-16 marketing suggests, is starting now.

For the Bucks, flipping Knight for Carter-Williams, Plumlee and Ennis is a solid swap. Knight is a better all-around player than Carter-Williams at this point but is set to become a restricted free agent, while Carter-Williams has two years remaining on his rookie deal.

That doesn't necessarily make Carter-Williams a better fit alongside youngsters like Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo, but their career timelines match up a little better. They also lend Ennis, the No. 18 pick in this year's draft, as a flier and add Plumlee, who should see rotation minutes with the Bucks thin on centers.

That doesn't necessarily mean the Suns make out poorly in getting Knight, but they paid a steep price. The Lakers' pick was one of their best trade assets, the pick used on Ennis could have been a serious asset before June's draft, and Plumlee was a rotation player for the team just earlier this year.

The Suns' moves on Thursday have to be looked at in totality, as the shakeup is extreme:

Whether or not Thursday was a net positive for Phoenix will largely depend on how Knight fits next to Eric Bledsoe in the team's new backcourt and where the Lakers' pick ultimately falls.

The Suns also received injured point guard Kendall Marshall for the purposes of matching salary, and he's likely to be waived since he's our for the season.