Eric Bledsoe finally re-ups with the Phoenix Suns, but questions about future remain
The final domino of the NBA’s summer free agency period has fallen. According to a report from Yahoo’s own Adrian Wojnarowski, the Phoenix Suns and point guard Eric Bledsoe have agreed to a five-year, $70-million contract. The deal ends a months-long stalemate in which Bledsoe and his agent Rich Paul sought a maximum contract while the Suns used the player’s status as a restricted free agent as leverage to wait for favorable terms. Perhaps we can thank the Minnesota Timberwolves’ sudden interest in Bledsoe for pushing both sides to sit down and reach a deal.
It appears as if Bledsoe won the negotiation. The Suns and general manager Ryan McDonough were reported to have offered him a four-year, $48-million contract in July, well below his desired five-year, roughly $84-million max extension. While waiting did not get Bledsoe the biggest possible contract (which was always unlikely), it did help him to exceed the total worth of the four-year, $63-million max extension that Bledsoe could have earned from another team under the rules of restricted free agency. Essentially, Bledsoe got an extra year and more money overall (though about $2 million less per season) than his most likely max-contract figure without any serious competing offers. That’s not a bad take for a player who missed 39 games to injury in his first season as a starter.
However, the Suns didn’t exactly overpay, because $14 million per year seems like the market rate for someone of Bledsoe’s talent, production, and potential. After joining the Suns via trade from the Los Angeles Clippers last summer, Bledsoe averaged 17.7 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.7 rebounds over 32.9 minutes per game with a PER of 19.62. He is also known as a very active defender and generally disruptive force. Beyond his individual numbers, Bledsoe teamed with All-NBA Third Team member Goran Dragic to create a terrific dual point guard attack for the Suns, a team that massively outperformed expectations to win 48 games and challenge for a playoff spot until the regular season’s final day. When Dragic and Bledsoe were both in the starting lineup, the Suns went 23-11, which would rank among the best teams in the NBA if extrapolated to 82 games.
After this summer, though, it’s not clear if the Suns need Bledsoe quite as much as they did in 2013-14. The team inked Sacramento Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas to a four-year, $27-million deal, presumably to double down on the team’s point guard lineup and insure the team against an unhappy resolution to Bledsoe’s free agency. At 5-9, Thomas can’t be called on for much defense, but he’s a terrific scorer who 20.3 ppg and 6.3 assists per game with a 20.5 PER. He’s also used to getting playing time after a season in which he saw 34.7 minutes per contest. He is different enough from Bledsoe (and Dragic) that the two can definitely play together, but head coach Jeff Hornacek will have to conceive of his point guard rotation as consisting of many potential combinations rather than the previous dynamic duo. (He can also opt to play all three together, if he wants to get creative and run opponents into the ground.) Bledsoe will be a big part of whatever the Suns do next season — it’s just unclear if he’ll be as essential to the team’s identity as he once when he last suited up in orange and purple.
But it’s just as likely that the Suns don’t know how Bledsoe fits into their future, because much of it remains unclear. Although Phoenix announced itself as a viable playoff team last season, there’s no guarantee that they match or exceed 48 wins due to the loss of Channing Frye (the rare big man who can space the floor on offense and provide decent interior defense) to the Orlando Magic and the vagaries of season-to-season changes and adjustments in a league as complicated as the NBA. Plus, Dragic becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer and could command considerable interest if he decides to renege on his promise of immediately recommitting to the Suns. Reaching terms with Bledsoe has allowed the franchise to avoid facing the uneasy prospect of him and Dragic both becoming unrestricted free agents next season, which would be a difficult situation if Bledsoe plays to a max-contract level in 2014-15. It’s also yet to be determined if the Suns have enough room in the lineup for Dragic, Bledsoe, and Thomas, all of whom need to play to justify their contracts and reputations. Hornacek may find that three quality point guards is one too many, in which case McDonough will have to move one for help elsewhere in the lineup. Or maybe Bledsoe’s knee issues will return, in which case the point guard logjam will be irrelevant.
For now, we can put aside these possible scenarios and focus on the immediate benefits of Bledsoe’s new contract. He gets his desired long-term deal and the financial security that comes with it. The Suns bring back one of their key players and reaffirm their identity heading into an important season in the franchise’s development. (For that matter, they should be one of the NBA’s most watchable teams for the second year in a row.) Everyone’s a winner here for at least a few months. We’ll have to check back later to see if those good feelings persist.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
