Brandon Knight Injury: Updates on Suns Star's Ankle and Return

Mike ChiariMar 9, 2015

Brandon Knight sprained his ankle on March 9 against the Golden State Warriors. He was able to come off the bench against the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 29; however, he was shut down for the season and underwent surgery on April 17.

Continue for updates.

Knight Undergoes Surgery

Saturday, April 18

The Suns announced Knight underwent ankle surgery on April 17, and that Knight is expected to make a full recovery.

Knight briefly returned to the lineup on March 29 against the Thunder, but would not return again on the season.

The 23-year-old native of Miami suffered a sprained left ankle on March 9 against the Warriors, confirmed the team's Twitter account. Mark Petersen of Suns.com added more information after the game:

The former University of Kentucky standout was the No. 8 overall selection in the 2011 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. After a couple of up-and-down seasons in Detroit, though, the Pistons traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks for guard Brandon Jennings prior to the 2013-14 campaign.

What followed for Knight was a career season, as he averaged nearly 18 points and five assists per game. That has carried over to 2014-15, as his per-game averages have remained steady, although it has taken him some time to get acclimated to sharing the backcourt with Eric Bledsoe in Phoenix.

With things really starting to click for Knight in Milwaukee, the fact that he was part of a three-team trade took many by surprise. Even Knight himself still isn't entirely sure why things unfolded the way they did, according to Bleacher Report's Ethan J. Skolnick:

The Suns were in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race when Knight came over from Milwaukee, but Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel points out that he left a more comfortable situation in Milwaukee:

Prior to the trade, Utah Jazz announcer David Locke was among those who felt as though Knight was truly realizing the potential he showed in college with the Wildcats:

Knight could turn out to be a great acquisition for the Suns, but the transition has seemingly been a difficult one.

It hasn't been made any easier by the fact that Knight has been a bit banged up after suffering a hip pointer on Feb. 28 against the San Antonio Spurs, either.

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