Eric Bledsoe [RFA]

[In2ition]

I think he's holding his complete stance and dissertation on the chance that someday he gets to execute it as a GM.

[Cap]

An article about the Bledsoe RFA situation by Zack Lowe of Grantland.

Eric Bledsoe’s Long, Hot, Restricted Summer

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/eric- ... ed-summer/

Here's something from the article I didn't know:

Granting that fifth year would also require Phoenix to name Bledsoe its “designated player,” a one-time-only thing for as long as Bledsoe is on the team.

Eric, you need a new agent. This insanity is not serving you well.

[Flagrant Fowl]

An article about the Bledsoe RFA situation by Zack Lowe of Grantland.

Eric Bledsoe’s Long, Hot, Restricted Summer

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/eric- ... ed-summer/

Here's something from the article I didn't know:

Granting that fifth year would also require Phoenix to name Bledsoe its “designated player,” a one-time-only thing for as long as Bledsoe is on the team.

Eric, you need a new agent. This insanity is not serving you well.

Same here. I had never heard of the "designated player", but I'm not exactly a CBA-ologist. This quick little example helped me understand the impact it has on a team and their further roster flexibility.

http://www.hoopsrumors.com/2013/08/desi ... ayers.html

A designated player is a former first-round draft pick who receives a five-year extension to his rookie-scale contract. Teams are allowed to sign players to rookie-scale extensions of up to four years as often as they want, but they can only sign one player to a five-year rookie scale extension for as long as that extension is in effect. So, the Wizards, who signed John Wall to a five-year extension in July, can't sign anyone else to a rookie-scale extension of more than four years until the summer of 2019, when Wall's deal expires. The five-year deal makes Wall the team's designated player. That means the Wizards will be limited when they negotiate with Bradley Beal or any other player on the team's roster who can become eligible for a rookie-scale extension before Wall's deal is up.

The way things look now, the Suns don't really have to worry about potentially losing out on an extra year for a stud rookie because they don't have one, but that could always change at any moment.

[Ring_Wanted]

But the Suns signed a third starting-caliber point guard, Isaiah Thomas, and negotiations with Bledsoe have been stuck ever since. Could something sinister be going on here?

Good point about Pekovic, though. Also injury prone, by the way.

Ryan McDonough, the Suns’ GM, has had a killer first year on the job, and he’s not in the business of overpaying anyone on long-term deals. Ask Channing Frye.

Certainly seems so. Bledsoe is not contractless because of nothing. And PJ didn't get out of hand, after all.

The Holiday-Lawson-Curry $11 million–plus deals were signed two years ago, and they’re obsolete now — apples to oranges.

I can buy that. Probably why those 4/48 were rejected, but it can be done. The market can be a bitch sometimes to players too.

Any guy with upside who signed a long-term contract last summer has to sit on the sidelines now as the revenue bonanza ramps up.

The TV deal is a huge factor. But unless Bledsoe wants a contract that sets him free again after 15-16 for whatever amount, say from 3/30 to 3/50, he's had tough luck and there's nothing you can do to help it. Bledsoe can't held the Suns accountable for what will happen in the future. The only thing that matter is the now, at least for three years.

And of course, Bledsoe is a beast on defense — what I like to call a Mirror Guy. A Mirror Guy reacts to the moves of his mark, both on and off the ball, with such perfect timing and balance that it almost appears as if the offensive player is working against his own reflection.

That's a myth bud.

OppFG% at the rim is a nice stat, and Bledsoe had a 33% before going down, which was absolute best among >20games >20mpg including of course all the monster rim protectors, but he was not a mirror, at least this year. He carried that label from his Clippers days, but didn't show it in Phoenix, at least consistently. He was a monster recovering, though, and having to face his length, strength and quickness clearly looked like a handful when he was into it; but like ussually happens with guys who carry a heavy part of an offense, it's not nearly true that Bledsoe was the shadow described in this piece.

There is also the small matter of Phoenix’s offense stalling out when Bledsoe ran solo. The Suns scored 108.4 points per 100 possessions when Dragic and Bledsoe played together, and just 100.7 when Dragic sat — a mark that would have ranked 25th among 30 teams over the full season. The team’s overall turnover rate spiked, and Bledsoe made more mistakes when he had to work as the lead ball handler.

Bledsoe is turnover prone, that's not news. I saw progress, however.

[Ring_Wanted]

The way things look now, the Suns don't really have to worry about potentially losing out on an extra year for a stud rookie because they don't have one, but that could always change at any moment.

Bledsoe, or his agent, is trying to sell you and everybody, that he is that stud. Needless to say, he fails. Those 5/80 never were an option. And if that's what he ends up getting I'll get a #mcdoOUT tatoo.

[Cap]

You can get that tattoo on your butt where monkeys are flying out.

[Charlie Smithy!]

A whole barrel of monkeys at that!

[ShelC]

It's not even that he's a stud, there's more to that when it comes to a max deal/$80mil. Is he a superstar, money making player who will sell jerseys and tickets and suites and partnerships? Does he have that personality to go along with the game. That's where the extra money (should) go when you invest in that type of player.

[Charlie Smithy!]

Yeah, that brings up an interesting question for me - who's our most marketable player?

Dragic (my guess anyway)?

Or do you need that true superstar for these kinda matters?

[BigLewy]

Yeah, that brings up an interesting question for me - who's our most marketable player?

Dragic (my guess anyway)?

Or do you need that true superstar for these kinda matters?

Hmmm, very interesting question. I would have to say Dragic, but we don't have that one player that opposing fans are excited to see. If Phoenix goes to Boston, there probably aren't many people saying oh I can't wait to see Dragic tonight!

[ShelC]

I don't think we have a "star", and played very much like a team last year. Ironically, Isaiah Thomas could end up being that electric type of player who garners the most attention. His style of play, scoring ability and height should make him a fan favorite and get him attention around the league assuming we're winning games.

[Mori Chu]

Hmmm, very interesting question. I would have to say Dragic, but we don't have that one player that opposing fans are excited to see. If Phoenix goes to Boston, there probably aren't many people saying oh I can't wait to see Dragic tonight!

Sad thing is, the guy on our team who's probably shown on TV / SportsCenter / etc. the most is Gerald Green.

[BigLewy]

Hmmm, very interesting question. I would have to say Dragic, but we don't have that one player that opposing fans are excited to see. If Phoenix goes to Boston, there probably aren't many people saying oh I can't wait to see Dragic tonight!

Sad thing is, the guy on our team who's probably shown on TV / SportsCenter / etc. the most is Gerald Green.

That's a good point. I know that I would pay for a cheap ticket to see if Green provides any highlight plays if the Suns came to town. Seeing his athleticism in person is probably quite a treat.

[Superbone]

I think Dragic is becoming that player. He makes some incredible drives to the hoop and some awesome moves around the hoop.

[wpmiller42]

I think Dragic is becoming that player. He makes some incredible drives to the hoop and some awesome moves around the hoop.

I think most knowledgeable fans would put Dragic on that kind of tier where they would go just to see him play. There's just some games where he has such incredible control and skill on display, with that playoff game against the Spurs being a prime example. I think Dragic is one of the few guys I would pay to watch practice.

[INFORMER]

I want to wait until the rest of the summer plays out to see what we have.

There's wisdom in that. The Gortat trade came pretty late in the game and it was a significant move at the time. My hope would be that this time around it's the Morris Twins. I'd be very disappointed if the Suns played out the year with them still on the roster.

[Shabazz]

I want to wait until the rest of the summer plays out to see what we have.

There's wisdom in that. The Gortat trade came pretty late in the game and it was a significant move at the time. My hope would be that this time around it's the Morris Twins. I'd be very disappointed if the Suns played out the year with them still on the roster.

I'm holding out hope they get moved in some sort of aggregation trade for a quality PF, too. I'm not a Marcus fan at all.

[INFORMER]

I don't know if we can/will win a title with the current regime or any of the current players. But it's SOOOOO much better than the last group, and the early returns are pretty good so far.

Herein lies the problem. We've been married to wife-beaters three times, and now we praise our current spouse as the greatest ever just because he doesn't beat us.

I think Ryan hit a grand slam with Hornacek, but everything else has been singles, ground-outs, or strike-outs. Every at-bat doesn't have to be a grand slam, but it feels like Ryan has already failed to deliver at huge moments when runners are in scoring position and the game is one the line.

Aside from Hornacek, the Gortat and Scola moves are moves I liked but are nevertheless standard operating procedure. Those were fundamental rebuild moves that (I expect) any GM should know to make.

[INFORMER]

I'm holding out hope they get moved in some sort of aggregation trade for a quality PF, too. I'm not a Marcus fan at all.

For me, it doesn't have to be a PF necessarily, just something helps us more in short or long term than keeping them. Moving them for another point guard would be awesome.

[In2ition]

I'm holding out hope they get moved in some sort of aggregation trade for a quality PF, too. I'm not a Marcus fan at all.

For me, it doesn't have to be a PF necessarily, just something helps us more in short or long term than keeping them. Moving them for another point guard would be awesome.

Oh my goodness, another one? I thought the Suns cornered the market on point guards.