Remember Eric Bledsoe’s very public proclamation on Twitter about wanting to leave the Phoenix Suns? The one that sent the NBA universe into a frenzy? The one that got him exiled from the Suns? The one that eventually got him traded to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, as first reported by ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Adrian Wojnarowski?
You know, this tweet specifically:
I Dont wanna be here
— Eric Bledsoe (@EBled2) October 22, 2017
Remember that? And how Bledsoe tried to explain it by saying he was at a hair salon? And how the Suns didn’t buy it?
So, yeah, Bledsoe isn’t backing off his explanation now that he’s out of Phoenix. On the contrary, he’s doubling down:
“I’m extremely excited to be a Milwaukee Buck.” — @EBled2 pic.twitter.com/DofZIa1Jkr
— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) November 7, 2017
Bledsoe opens this video by saying: “I’ve never been a liar. I haven’t lied to anybody when it comes to serious things.”
His commitment to his excuse, real or not, adds an interesting layer to this deal. Most of us (all of us?) assumed Bledsoe’s hair-salon bit was a thinly veiled F U to the Suns. But, like, what if Phoenix actually just traded a player, while selling low, because he subtweeted a barber shop or beauty parlor or whatever?
That, my friends, would be one of the most epic developments in NBA history—unless you’re the Suns, or someone who roots for the Suns, or someone who plays for the Suns.
Sure, they extracted a (heavily) protected first-round pick out of this deal, and they didn’t need to take on any long-term salary. But they also weren’t able to lop off Tyson Chandler’s contract as part of negotiations, and they could have most definitely received more for Bledsoe’s services over the summer, when they weren’t actively disallowing him from being an participating member of the team.
Ah, well. The soap opera is over. Bledsoe is a member of the Bucks. Now we anxiously await the oral history of his trip to the hair salon that changed his life.
