The Houston Rockets have finally found a willing partner to absorb forward Ryan Anderson’s onerous contract, as the team has reportedly traded the sweet-shooting big man to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Marquese Chriss and Brandon Knight, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
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
Although Anderson’s bad contract is now off Houston’s book, the Rockets will have to take on Knight’s remaining salary worth over $30 million until 2020. Chriss is due to earn $3.2 million in the coming 2018-19 season, though, the Rockets have the option to waive him next summer to prevent shouldering the former Washington Huskies star’s $4.07 million salary in the 2019-20 season.
Brandon Knight missed all of last season because of a torn ACL, but he’s expected to be ready for the next season. Playing time will be harder to come by for Knight in Houston, though, with Chris Paul and Michael Carter-Williams in front of him on the depth chart.
As for Marquese Chriss, he’s been a letdown so far, as the former first-round pick regressed in his sophomore year in the NBA, wherein he put up just 7.7 points, grabbed 5.5 rebounds, and shot just 42.3 percent from the field last season.
Ryan Anderson used to be a confounding problem for the Rockets, as they were due to pay him $20.42 million in the 2018-19 season and $21.2 million in the 2019-20 campaign.
Prior to Anderson’s trade to Phoenix, the Rockets were over the salary cap by $34 million.
Anderson’s value to the Rockets took a nosedive last season in which he averaged just 9.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game. He was still decent from beyond the arc with a 38.9 3-point shooting percentage, but his limited skill set eventually eased him off the Rockets’ regular rotation.
Anderson barely saw action on the floor in the playoffs, as he appeared in only 8.6 minutes per game while chipping in a paltry average of 1.7 points across 11 games.
In Phoenix, Anderson will be reunited by former Rockets teammate Trevor Ariza, who signed this offseason with the Suns.
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