Eric Bledsoe was the last man standing in Phoenix after the failed experiment that started with three-point guards in the backcourt and concluded with two of them — Isaiah Thomas and Goran Dragic — leaving town at the trade deadline. Now, it appears Bledsoe could be on his way out, as well. Via Sean Deveney of the Sporting News:
Sporting News reported last week that the Suns had been shopping Bledsoe. But trading Bledsoe, according to league sources, will not prove to be easy for Phoenix. “There was a reason,” one general manager told SN, “that no one wanted to give him that ($70 million) contract last year. I think you still have to worry about his health. I think you worry about how coachable he is, too.”
The Suns are also apparently planning on signing restricted free agent Brandon Knight to a five-year, $70 million contract this offseason. It’s a move that would seem to indicate that Phoenix is preparing to cut its losses with Bledsoe, despite the fact that Suns GM Ryan McDonough has argued otherwise. If they are, in fact, floating around trade ideas, the question now is how difficult it will be to unload him and whether they can get adequate value in return.
One potential target seems to be the Sacramento Kings. They opted to take a frontcourt player, Willie Cauley-Stein, in last Thursday’s NBA Draft, and their current point guard, Darren Collison, is widely considered more of a backup point guard then a starting point guard. Then, of course, there is the added bonus that Bledsoe and DeMarcus Cousins were teammates at Kentucky. Unless the Kings do the unthinkable and cave into George Karl’s plans to trade Cousins this summer, this is a scenario that could work out for all parties involved.
