Eric Bledsoe [RFA]

[Xylus]

I'd rather have Bledsoe than Greek Freak.

[Xylus]

This desire to get involved in S&T talks with Milwaukee is absurd to me. Granted, July is rosterbation primetime, but c'mon. Dream bigger.

It's almost as if some of you didn't watch the Suns with Dragic and Bled on the court together.

[Ring_Wanted]

Trust me, I did see them. But the Freak is the most interesting young player in this league. He is unreal.

[INFORMER]

I'd rather have Bledsoe than Greek Freak.

That's 0 & _______ talk there.

[LazarusLong]

oh, my .... pissing from the past ..

[INFORMER]

It's almost as if some of you didn't watch the Suns with Dragic and Bled on the court together.

And it's almost as if you didn't see how Dragic played without Bledsoe or see Isaiah Thomas play.

[INFORMER]

oh, my .... pissing from the past ..

[JCSunsfan]

Trust me, I did see them. But the Freak is the most interesting young player in this league. He is unreal.

He has an young Amare-esque "can't take your eyes off of him" type of play.

[Cap]

Is Milwaukee willing to max Bledsoe?

[JCSunsfan]

At the same time, Giannis, IMO, is a championship cornerstone. You get him if you can (within a reasonable offer). And it's really now, when he's coming off averaging just 6 points on 41% shooting, or in 7 years.

I do not think he is attainable.

He shouldn't be. But the Bucks have been one of the worst run franchises, and you don't lose anything for asking, right? Who knows if you can convince them that they should redistribute their talent with Parker on board. How about this stud PG instead of another forward hehehe.

Sure, ask. Who knows.

[Xylus]

It's almost as if some of you didn't watch the Suns with Dragic and Bled on the court together.

And it's almost as if you didn't see how Dragic played without Bledsoe or see Isaiah Thomas play.

1. Dragic played like an all-star without Bledsoe, no doubt, but the Suns played .500 ball during that lengthy stretch. That speaks to Bledsoe's importance, as well as the importance of maintaining our dynamic two-PG attack.

2. Personally, I don't see Isaiah as Bledsoe's replacement. He's unbelievably talented for a player his size, and while he could theoretically match Bledsoe's production statistically, he doesn't have the same defensive presence. He'll try hard, but Isaiah's just not big or long enough to disrupt passing lanes like Bled does.

I guess I just don't understand why you're in a rush to get rid of Eric. We're clearly one big piece (PF) away from being a perennial playoff team. Trading away a borderline all-star--who A) has proven that he will improve his game every year, and B) is only 24 years old--for a project like the Greek Freak, is completely counter-productive and sets our rebuild back at least 2 years.

Is it solely because of his injury history? Or is there something about his game that turns you off?

[iLLmatic]

I think INF is tired of being a perennial playoff team and he doesn't see Bledsoe putting us over the edge and making us a contender. If I can borrow a line from the infamous Cubby, win the last game in June, that's all that matters. He's tired of being O & ??

[Ring_Wanted]

Trust me, I did see them. But the Freak is the most interesting young player in this league. He is unreal.

He has an young Amare-esque "can't take your eyes off of him" type of play.

The first thing I saw from him was a highlight where he hit a three and also led a fastbreak dribbling and running like he was freaking Kevin Durant and making a crazy good pass. He got me interested in Milwaukee Bucks basketball, mind you. You nailed it, you just can't take your eyes off.

[Xylus]

I think INF is tired of being a perennial playoff team and he doesn't see Bledsoe putting us over the edge and making us a contender. If I can borrow a line from the infamous Cubby, win the last game in June, that's all that matters. He's tired of being O & ??

I don't think Bledsoe is the piece that sends us over the top, but I definitely think he's one of several necessary pieces. Ideally, he's our 3rd option on offense, maybe 2nd if he keeps improving.

[Ring_Wanted]

It's almost as if some of you didn't watch the Suns with Dragic and Bled on the court together.

And it's almost as if you didn't see how Dragic played without Bledsoe or see Isaiah Thomas play.

1. Dragic played like an all-star without Bledsoe, no doubt, but the Suns played .500 ball during that lengthy stretch. That speaks to Bledsoe's importance, as well as the importance of maintaining our dynamic two-PG attack.

2. Personally, I don't see Isaiah as Bledsoe's replacement. He's unbelievably talented for a player his size, and while he could theoretically match Bledsoe's production statistically, he doesn't have the same defensive presence. He'll try hard, but Isaiah's just not big or long enough to disrupt passing lanes like Bled does.

I guess I just don't understand why you're in a rush to get rid of Eric. We're clearly one big piece (PF) away from being a perennial playoff team. Trading away a borderline all-star--who A) has proven that he will improve his game every year, and B) is only 24 years old--for a project like the Greek Freak, is completely counter-productive and sets our rebuild back at least 2 years.

Is it solely because of his injury history? Or is there something about his game that turns you off?

I fully agree with you on Bledsoe's impact. But Antetokounmpo is the real deal. I wouldn't hesitate even if Bledsoe was 100% healthy. However, I have no desire whatsoever of losing him for nothing or sign and trading him for John Henson and scraps.

[Xylus]

It's almost as if some of you didn't watch the Suns with Dragic and Bled on the court together.

And it's almost as if you didn't see how Dragic played without Bledsoe or see Isaiah Thomas play.

1. Dragic played like an all-star without Bledsoe, no doubt, but the Suns played .500 ball during that lengthy stretch. That speaks to Bledsoe's importance, as well as the importance of maintaining our dynamic two-PG attack.

2. Personally, I don't see Isaiah as Bledsoe's replacement. He's unbelievably talented for a player his size, and while he could theoretically match Bledsoe's production statistically, he doesn't have the same defensive presence. He'll try hard, but Isaiah's just not big or long enough to disrupt passing lanes like Bled does.

I guess I just don't understand why you're in a rush to get rid of Eric. We're clearly one big piece (PF) away from being a perennial playoff team. Trading away a borderline all-star--who A) has proven that he will improve his game every year, and B) is only 24 years old--for a project like the Greek Freak, is completely counter-productive and sets our rebuild back at least 2 years.

Is it solely because of his injury history? Or is there something about his game that turns you off?

I fully agree with you on Bledsoe's impact. But Antetokounmpo is the real deal. I wouldn't hesitate even if Bledsoe was 100% healthy. However, I have no desire whatsoever of losing him for nothing or sign and trading him for John Henson and scraps.

He just might be the real deal, but I think he's about 4-5 years away from being an all-star quality talent.

[Ring_Wanted]

I could see him just two seasons away, 14-15 included. But even if he takes that much, it would be worth the wait and the gamble. His potential is immeasurable.

[INFORMER]

but the Suns played .500 ball during that lengthy stretch. That speaks to Bledsoe's importance

I think that speaks to a lack of talent, not some unique importance of Bledsoe. And that lack of talent has been addressed with adding Warren and Isaiah Thomas, can be further addressed with a Bledsoe S&T, moving the Morris Twins, free agency down the line (by maintaining our cap space) and the Laker pick. Not to mention internal improvement from Len and Goodwin (though I'm not counting on that).

as well as the importance of maintaining our dynamic two-PG attack.

I have no problem with the two-PG attack. In fact I'm a fan of it. I just think we can field one without paying the second PG as much as Bledsoe will comand.

We're clearly one big piece (PF) away from being a perennial playoff team.

Ah, here's the fundamental distinction: you're wanting to build towards a perennial playoff team; I'm wanting to build a perennial contender.

I guess I just don't understand why you're in a rush to get rid of Eric...Is it solely because of his injury history? Or is there something about his game that turns you off?

I don't like having Dragic be the secondary ball-handler. I don't think he's at his best in that role. The problem when Bledsoe went down is that Dragic became the lone ball-handler. I don't want that either. I want something in the middle. Keep him as the primary ball-handler but have bonafide secondary ball-handlers to assist him.

Keeping Bledsoe marginalizes Dragic and Isaiah Thomas. And I think, in general , paying him $12 million a year or more is poor allocation of resources. I really don't have any desire to pour that much money into another point guard. It can be used in better ways.

And then yes, there's injury history, which is hardly something to gloss over.

[Ring_Wanted]

Keeping Bledsoe marginalizes Dragic and Isaiah Thomas.

You keep saying this but I don't think that's the case. During the games they played together you didn't see two guys who were stepping into each other's role or space, Amare-Diaw style. Quite the opposite, actually. They were extremely complementary, as Bledsoe does things Dragic can't and viceversa. They had terrific synergy as a combo and it was really hard for opposite teams to slow down them when the way they took turns at attacking and creating for others. It is not a coincidence that they sported almost siamese stats, but the impact goes way beyond the numbers, on both sides of the court. We've discussed extensively about Bledsoe's defense and what means to Dragic so he can slid to guarding SGs, but on offense it is also immense. It's like fighting against a boxer who hits you equally hard with each fist.

Dragic elevated his game when Bledsoe went down, that's obviously true, but it didn't come from a sort of liberation, being finally free to run his team without obstacles. He was already the leader and 1A creator. The increase in usage was out of pure necessity and it took an inhuman effort and wear and tear that I don't want to see on a consistent basis again. That's a big part of the value this two PG system offers, and it is gone if you substitute Bledsoe with some highly limited role player like Shumpert, Avery Bradley or any of those types. There's a reason too as to why the Suns were out of their way and signed another ball dominant guard. They want two creators at all times on the floor, and in order to do so you have to be willing to compromise usage to some extent, but that's not the same as marginalizing one player.

Do you think Isaiah is not going to have an impact on Dragic even if Bledsoe was gone? Of course he will, he put up 20 points alongside Cousins and Gay. But it is that way by design. Wether you like the system or not, that's another story, but I'd be really hard pressed to find another PG who plays so well to Dragic's weaknesses as Bledsoe does, while adding to some of his strengths.

In my opinion the legitimate issues are salary, because Bledsoe is by no means a perfect player; health, obviously; and commitment to Phoenix, because maybe he is the one who wants a bigger market or a team for himself. But all of that belongs off the court.

Strictly from a game standpoint I have no doubts that I want Bledsoe back.

[Wally_West]

Keeping Bledsoe marginalizes Dragic and Isaiah Thomas.

You keep saying this but I don't think that's the case. During the games they played together you didn't see two guys who were stepping into each other's role or space, Amare-Diaw style. Quite the opposite, actually. They were extremely complementary, as Bledsoe does things Dragic can't and viceversa. They had terrific synergy as a combo and it was really hard for opposite teams to slow down them when the way they took turns at attacking and creating for others. It is not a coincidence that they sported almost siamese stats, but the impact goes way beyond the numbers, on both sides of the court. We've discussed extensively about Bledsoe's defense and what means to Dragic so he can slid to guarding SGs, but on offense it is also immense. It's like fighting against a boxer who hits you equally hard with each fist.

Dragic elevated his game when Bledsoe went down, that's obviously true, but it didn't come from a sort of liberation, being finally free to run his team without obstacles. He was already the leader and 1A creator. The increase in usage was out of pure necessity and it took an inhuman effort and wear and tear that I don't want to see on a consistent basis again. That's a big part of the value this two PG system offers, and it is gone if you substitute Bledsoe with some highly limited role player like Shumpert, Avery Bradley or any of those types. There's a reason too as to why the Suns were out of their way and signed another ball dominant guard. They want two creators at all times on the floor, and in order to do so you have to be willing to compromise usage to some extent, but that's not the same as marginalizing one player.

Do you think Isaiah is not going to have an impact on Dragic even if Bledsoe was gone? Of course he will, he put up 20 points alongside Cousins and Gay. But it is that way by design. Wether you like the system or not, that's another story, but I'd be really hard pressed to find another PG who plays so well to Dragic's weaknesses as Bledsoe does, while adding to some of his strengths.

In my opinion the legitimate issues are salary, because Bledsoe is by no means a perfect player; health, obviously; and commitment to Phoenix, because maybe he is the one who wants a bigger market or a team for himself. But all of that belongs off the court.

Strictly from a game standpoint I have no doubts that I want Bledsoe back.

Good post Ring. I agree with pretty much all of it.