This Eric Bledsoe drama just won’t end.
With the relationship between Mini LeBron and the Phoenix Suns having apparently soured, Bled’s restricted free agency has gone from formality to perplexing puzzle. Will he accept the Suns’ four-year, $48 million offer? Or will he take their $3.7 million qualifying offer, play through next season and become an unrestricted free agent in 2015?
Those appeared to be the two options. Entertaining sign-and-trade theories was futile. The Suns wouldn’t trade him.
Or maybe they would.
Jude LaCava of Fox Sports 910 (via Bright Side Of The Sun) says the Suns aren’t opposed to dealing Bledsoe anymore:
“I’ll tell you this, and I think this is the first time it’s reported,” Jude LaCava said on Tuesday, “I do believe in my NBA sources. You can take this to the bank, so to speak, the Suns are now discussing trade possibilities for Eric Bledsoe.”
“That’s the new chapter to this and I wouldn’t back off of that information. I think it’s 100% correct.”
Let’s just say it: Can’t this end already?
Almost two months deep into free agency, we’re still talking about this. Never mind that Bledsoe might think he’s worth more than the Suns are slinging. If that’s case, take the qualifying and bet on yourself. If it’s not, if there’s any part of Bledsoe that thinks he could damage his market value, then don’t. Sign the contract Phoenix is dangling.
Under no circumstances, though, should the Suns be trading Bledsoe. The return would have to be magnificent. And that’s not going to happen.
It would be great to see Bledsoe on the Dallas Mavericks or Houston Rockets or New York Knicks or Los Angeles Lakers or Indiana Pacers, among others. But none of those teams have the assets to match Bledsoe’s new salary while making any deal worthwhile for the Suns.
USA Today Sports.
This summer, no matter what happens, the Suns hold all the leverage. Bledsoe can regain some control next summer if he’s slated for unrestricted free agency, but right now, the Suns have power. All of it.
Either Bledsoe bends to their will and signs their current offer, in which case they’ve retained one of the league’s brightest young point men on an incredibly reasonable deal, or they keep him through next season at a ridiculous discount (roughly $3.7 million), allowing them to further evaluate his value to their team before summer 2015.
That makes this a win-win for the Suns. They probably prefer to lock him up now, even after he only appeared in 43 games last year. Again, they have all the power. Next summer promises a bidding war if Bledsoe is healthy, and they’ll want to avoid overpaying if they can.
But really, there is no downside for them. There’s only downside in trading him for a lukewarm return that can neither be justified nor point them in the right direction.
Expect this entire soap opera to end with Bledsoe remaining in Phoenix for at least another year, possibly more.
Trading him should be out of the question for the Suns. They have no decision to make. Their only course of action is inaction: Do nothing, sit tight and let this free-agency theatre unfold in their favor.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
