Cleveland Cavaliers guard Brandon Knight was reportedly sharp in pre-training camp workouts with the team, and one can’t help but feel relief for him after Knight appears to finally be more ready to go after a really tough ACL injury that kept him out of the whole 2017-18 season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers should be for the most part pleased with what they have gotten out of guard Brandon Knight since he came over from the Houston Rockets near the 2019 trade deadline.
Knight started in 26 of his 27 appearances last year with the Cavaliers, and though Cleveland was not exactly better off with Knight on the floor defensively, though the team defense in general last season was dreadful, anyhow, as evidenced by the Cavs haven’t the league’s worst defensive rating (per NBA.com), Knight was a solid veteran presence.
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He was productive on and off the ball, and reportedly helped mentor Collin Sexton considerably as well.
In that 27-game sample, Knight had 8.5 points and 2.3 assists in 22.9 minutes per game (per Basketball Reference).
He was a nice secondary playmaker, a good option to go to in pick-and-roll situations, and along with that, he shot 37.1% from three-point range with the Cavaliers, primarily related to the catch-and-shoot variety, which bodes well for if Knight potentially rotational gets minutes next season alongside the likes of Sexton, Darius Garland, or Matthew Dellavedova (among others).
Overall, though, what has to be such a relief for Knight is that he’s seemingly much healthier now at this point.
Knight suffered a horrific ACL injury a few years back when he was with the Phoenix Suns that kept him out of the entire 2017-18 NBA season, and other injuries have occurred for Knight in his career.
Now, though, he reportedly was a player that looked sharp and seemed ready to roll at the Cavs’ pre-camp workouts in New York, according to Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor (and h/t Sam Amico of Amico Hoops).
Fedor hit on how Knight was finally ready to improve his game and not just get healthier in the after a season, and that seemed to be an added boost for the Cleveland Cavaliers veteran.
"“Knight went into the off-season fully healthy for the first time in years. Instead of rehabbing an injury and simply working toward getting his body ready for a new season, Knight was able to improve his game.”"
Again, Fedor would then say how Knight was seemingly one of the Cavs’ best players in New York, too, which has to be such a breath of fresh air for Knight, his teammates and the Cleveland organization/its fan base.
"“According to sources, Knight looked ‘really good’ during Cleveland’s pre-camp workouts in New York recently. He was one of the players singled out.”‘"
I still believe the Cleveland Cavaliers would be right in trying to trade Knight, who is an expiring guard, and can help potential postseason teams as a reserve playmaker/perimeter scorer.
The 27-year-old can still be a valuable contributor, as he showed in his stint with the Cavaliers after the 2019 trade deadline, and again, him finally not really dealing with injury ailments going into an offseason and looking good in pre-camp workouts has to be such a relief for him (and again, the Cavs and their fans).
Knight is a player that seems to be a consummate professional, and I believe he, along with Matthew Dellavedova, should help the 19-year-old Garland in his development, too.
Whether the Cleveland Cavaliers choose to keep Knight through the 2020 trade deadline remains to be seen, and I don’t believe they will.
Either way, though, it’s really good to hear that Knight appears to be in a good place physically, and I’d think much more so mentally as well heading into a new season.