The Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns swapped bad contracts in an interesting four-player trade made on Thursday night.
Houston traded Ryan Anderson and De’Anthony Melton to Phoenix for Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss, as first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Houston has traded Ryan Anderson and De'Anthony Melton to Phoenix for Marquese Chriss and Brandon Knight, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 31, 2018
The Rockets had been looking to move Anderson and the $41 million he is owed over the next two seasons. Anderson’s role on the Rockets decreased last season, so it didn’t make a lot of sense to keep him around. He averaged just 9.3 points on 26.2 minutes per game — both his lowest marks since 2010. They sent Melton, a second-round pick in this year’s draft, to the Suns as part of the deal. He could be in the mix for point guard minutes in Phoenix.
The Rockets are taking on a risk with Knight, who is coming off a torn ACL. The former No. 8 overall pick is owed $30 million over the next two seasons. He will be behind both James Harden and Chris Paul in Houston’s backcourt. Chriss, also a former No. 8 overall pick, will join him in Houston. The Suns were disappointed with Chriss’ development and issues with his coaches. They had been shopping him for a while and finally found a taker.
