Way to steal Michael Beasley’s thunder, Eric Bledsoe.
After months of waiting and stalemating and—more disturbingly—no negotiations, Bledsoe finally reached an agreement with the Phoenix Suns that will pay him $70 million over the next five years, according to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski:
Restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe has reached agreement with the Suns on a 5-year, $70M extension, league source tells Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 24, 2014
Wait, there’s more:
There are no options in the Bledsoe deal, league source tells Yahoo Sports. Straight five year deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 24, 2014
So much for the Suns standing firm at four years and $48 million, eh?
Bledsoe won restricted free agency. Let’s get that out of the way right now. He wanted five years and $80 million, and wound up accepting $10 million less. The Suns wanted to pay him $48 million and wound up forking over $22 million more…without any options.
Greg Monroe must be so pissed right now.
Or confused, because that’s what I am.
It’s not surprising that Bledsoe is returning to Phoenix. Had this news broken months ago, or had this been the Suns simply matching another offer he received, it wouldn’t have been the least bit shocking. But the two sides weren’t talking apparently, and they were so very, very far apart. It looked like Bledsoe would pull a Monroe, signing his $3.7 million qualifying offer in hopes of landing a more lucrative deal as an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Then bam.
And kamboom.
Suddenly it’s done. Bledsoe isn’t just returning to the Suns, he’s staying with them for a long, long time. How in the hell did that happen? How in the hell did the tide shift so abruptly?
Communication between Bledsoe and the Suns has been non-existent through a summer stalemate in extension talks and Wednesday’s visit with Suns executives was a significant development in the final thawing needed to close on a new deal.
Bledsoe hadn’t been back in Phoenix since the Suns’ season ended in April.
Discussions between Suns general manager Ryan McDonough and Bledsoe’s representatives with Klutch Sports gathered momentum this week, league sources said.
Makes sense. Sort of. It would make even more sense if the Suns were at all threatened by the Minnesota Timberwolves’ reported interest. Perhaps they thought the Timberwolves would somehow, someway–though I don’t know how–create enough cap space to sign him.
Whatever the driving force behind this deal, it doesn’t change one unassailable fact: Bledsoe got paiiiiiiid.
Some of us will naturally think the Suns overpaid him, and perhaps they did. Just remember they’re not paying him for that 40-something game sample size he delivered last year alone. They’re paying him for that, the way he played during Chris Paul’s brief absence from the Los Angeles Clippers in 2012-13 and, most importantly, what he’s capable of doing later on.
They’re also paying him because he’s willing to stay. Players with Bledsoe’s ceiling don’t typically come to Phoenix in free agency. The Suns had the ability to keep a transcendent player, so they kept him. It’s that simple. End of story.
All that’s left to do is pop champagne.
Well that, and gear up for Goran Dragic’s free-agent demands next summer:
https://twitter.com/danfavale/status/514896912110325761
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.
