According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Rockets have traded Ryan Anderson and De’Anthony Melton to the Suns for Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss.
Many Rockets fans will wake up to a huge surprise Friday morning when they learn the news of the trade.
Anderson had been a player the Rockets had been dangling in trade talks for nearly a year, and their deal finally comes from the Phoenix Suns.
Anderson’s $20 million per year contract was deemed one of the more immovable contracts in the entire league, but the immovable has now been moved.
As a sweetener, the Rockets attached their rookie second-round pick and Summer League sensation De’Anthony Melton in the trade.
In order to match the contracts, the Suns have shipped Brandon Knight, a former Top 10 pick, to Houston. Knight has been buried in the Suns’ bench over the past few seasons due to injuries, but perhaps a change of scenery will do him some good.
Also coming to Houston in the trade is athletic power forward Marquese Chriss, another former Top 10 pick. He started 75 games as a rookie for the Suns in 2016-17, but saw less action last season due to a clogged frontcourt. However, in the last 10 games of last season, Chriss scored double figures in nine of them. He still has time to develop and has a high amount of upside.
Chriss, 21, is under club control until 2020 and will reach restricted free agency.
Overall, at first glance, it seems like a pretty even trade. The Suns basically said that they would take on Ryno’s contract in exchange for a similar but cheaper contract. but they asked for someone who they felt was a better prospect, Melton, than who they already had, Chriss.
The whole deal hinges on which of the younger players has a better career. If Chriss plays up to the Top 10 draft pick he was in 2016, then the Rockets win the trade. But if Melton, the player with the highest perceived upside, becomes a second-round steal like many have projected him to become, then the Suns might have pulled the rabbit out of the hat on this one.
