Houston Rockets assign Brandon Knight to G League

In a smart move by the Houston Rockets, they have assigned one of their recently healthy guys to the G League in order to get some more playing time before trying to contribute.

The Houston Rockets are winning games without Chris Paul right now thanks to the guard depth on the team. If you would have told me that at the beginning of the season when the team was 1-5, I would have laughed in your face.

Instead, the Rockets are playing much better, with the team getting contributions from all around. They have signed Austin Rivers to be a solid back up point guard and players like Eric Gordon are starting to become productive (though EG still needs to improve).

Brandon Knight has suddenly found himself lost in the rotation despite the CP3 injury. This summer, the Rockets traded Ryan Anderson and De’Anthony Melton for Knight and Marquese Chriss. They expected Knight to be ready in the first half of the season, which he was, but he is still rusty from being out of basketball for nearly two years.

Knight wasn’t very productive in his limited minutes, and the signing of Rivers made him redundant. The Rockets decided tonight to send him down to the Rio Grande Valley to get some consistent playing time and find his game, according to The Athletic’s Alykhan Bijani:

Sources with @KellyIkoNBA and @ShamsCharania: The Rockets have re-assigned Brandon Knight to the RGV Vipers. It was a mutual decision to get him more game minutes to aid in his rehab.

— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) December 29, 2018

The Right Move

This is the right move for the Houston Rockets. Knight could be a dynamic player once he regains his form, but playing in limited minutes is not the way for him to find his rhythm once again.

Playing in the G League will allow him to hit shots in real games and become the 20 points a game scorer that he once was. If the Rockets can get that guy back, the already-solid rotation could get even better.

Knight wasn’t going to play after the Rivers signing. He especially wasn’t going to play once CP3 returns. Letting him find his shot in the G League could prove to be valuable for the Rockets.