I still don't see how it is a violation. Bledsoe is a free agent. He can sign with whoever he wants for whatever he wants and whenever he wants. The league cannot say anything about it as long as the other team does not go over the cap. So if he wants to hold off, and give the Suns an opportunity based upon a word of mouth agreement, he can do that. His risk is that the Suns could withdraw their offer after other free agents are signed. Yes it is manipulation of the rules, but it is a loophole in the rules that the Suns can utilize. They are even on record as saying that they will sign other free agents before Bledsoe so that they can offer more. In other words, doing this is EXACTLY their plan and has been all along and they have made no secret of it.
If the question is whether we reached the agreement with Bledsoe BEFORE free agency started, I would imagine that would be really hard to police. There could be alot of "what if" conversations and then a verbal offer right after 9pm last night.
Oh well.