Suns sign Brandon Knight to reported 5-year, $70M deal

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The Phoenix Suns' point-guard carousel may have come to a stop, with the team announcing Friday that it's officially re-signed Brandon Knight.

Knight reportedly agreed to a five-year, $70-million contract as free agency opened July 1. Acquired in a three-team deal at the trade deadline, the Suns are clearly high on him after surrendering a valuable top-three protected, first-round pick from the Los Angeles Lakers to land him.

"He will be an integral member of our team on the court and will enhance our culture with his leadership and professionalism," president Lon Babby said in the release.

It's been a strange couple of seasons in the Suns' frontcourt, and the team likely hopes the duo of Knight and Eric Bledsoe can bring some stability. It could also mean Bledsoe is a trade candidate, but the Suns may want to give the pairing more than 11 games together to see if it can work.

The post-Steve Nash Suns originally tabbed Goran Dragic as their point guard, then added Bledsoe and later Isaiah Thomas in a fun but unsuccessful three-point-guard experiment. Dragic and Thomas were later dealt, and now Knight and Bledsoe are under contract together for four-plus seasons.

The Suns' route here was circuitous, but if they believe Knight is their guy, this isn't a terrible price. The deal stands out because point guard is a deep position league-wide, and it's unclear who was champing at the bit to offer Knight more in restricted free agency - but the $14-million annual salary is hardly egregious given the growing cap environment.

The 23-year-old Knight has averaged 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists over his four NBA seasons, shooting 41.7 percent from the floor and 36.5 percent from long range. He's not a terrific defender, but Bledsoe can help in that regard, and Knight's ability to knock down the open triple makes him an ideal fit for a two-guard attack.