Suns, Eric Bledsoe Far Apart In Talks

[Absolute Zero]

Someone should remove the word "talks" from the thread title. There haven't been any "talks" as far as I can tell. Darndest thing.

 

[Chaplin]

Unfortunately, it looks like thats going to happen - he may not get his money, but he'll get his choice of destination, and that destination will get him for peanuts. Sucks....

Huh? Whoever does get him is going to pay out the nose for him, so it won't be for peanuts.

The biggest issue from the Suns perspective is it's looking increasingly like we're going to lose him and get nothing in return. That's the only thing I'm concerned about. A guy like that should return some assets, at least.

 

[Covert Rain]

I am like many of you. I am over it. Do what you got to do. Bledsoe is not a max contract guy as of right now. I PERSONALLY don't think we have one of those guys on our team right now. However, if the market dictated it and we had to give anybody a max contract, it would be Dragic. Not this guy.

 

[Phoenix219]

Huh? Whoever does get him is going to pay out the nose for him, so it won't be for peanuts.

The biggest issue from the Suns perspective is it's looking increasingly like we're going to lose him and get nothing in return. That's the only thing I'm concerned about. A guy like that should return some assets, at least.

Thats what i meant though... they'll pay him his cash, but they won't be giving up much for assets.

 

[elindholm]

Thats what i meant though... they'll pay him his cash, but they won't be giving up much for assets.

That's going to be the trend under the new CBA, though. The new contract rules facilitate player movement. And with the salary cap expected to make a big jump, most teams have money to spend, so deciding how to spend that space is a bigger decision than what other talent you may or may not be giving up in the process.

Any "assets" acquired are just rentals, anyway. Most of the assets the Suns have acquired over the last several seasons are gone by now. They look valuable at the time, but in a few years, eh, whatever.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I am like many of you. I am over it. Do what you got to do. Bledsoe is not a max contract guy as of right now. I PERSONALLY don't think we have one of those guys on our team right now. However, if the market dictated it and we had to give anybody a max contract, it would be Dragic. Not this guy.

I agree with this sentence but in my opinion, what you have to do is find a way to sign the guy. We've only had a couple of defensive stars on this team since it's inception. I hate the idea we might lose one without getting equal compensation. I'm tired of the drama but really, most of the drama is right here on the internet (and sports talk shows). There has always been a deadline and we have yet to reach it. But given the likelihood of a huge cap increase, I don't think we can actually overpay Bledsoe unless his injury issue is a significant risk.

I think Management miscalculated with Eric. They wanted him back at any price but they didn't want to pay more than market value. I think they felt their offer was a fair starting point and that when Paul came back with a deal closer to 56/4 (or even higher), they'd just match and move on. But unfortunately, the FA money had already dried up by the time the Bledsoe camp made a serious attempt to find offers. Now, I suspect we'd give him the road team max without hesitation if we could do it in such a way as to not appear foolish. And, in the end, that is still what I expect to happen.

Steve

 

[JCSunsfan]

I think they felt their offer was a fair starting point and that when Paul came back with a deal closer to 56/4 (or even higher), they'd just match and move on. But unfortunately, the FA money had already dried up by the time the Bledsoe camp made a serious attempt to find offers. Now, I suspect we'd give him the road team max without hesitation if we could do it in such a way as to not appear foolish. And, in the end, that is still what I expect to happen.

Steve

I think this is probably true. The problem is that you cannot reward Rich Paul's negotiating style. It sets the Suns up for this type of thing again and again in the future, and THAT would be terribly damaging. If Bledsoe and Paul had played nice, they would be getting alot more money and I doubt many fans would be complaining.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I think this is probably true. The problem is that you cannot reward Rich Paul's negotiating style. It sets the Suns up for this type of thing again and again in the future, and THAT would be terribly damaging. If Bledsoe and Paul had played nice, they would be getting alot more money and I doubt many fans would be complaining.

I think that's the only reason we haven't made the offer, it would make us look foolish and hamper future deals. But that doesn't mean they can't get together and effectively reach the same point while allowing both sides to save face. If it's done as part of the negotiation process, fine, but if it's just us caving, that's a problem.

Steve

 

[Ronin]

I don't know how legit this is.....
Jude LaCava ‏@judefox10 7m

NBA sources tell me the Twolves are prepared to offer Eric Bledsoe a Max contract #nba

 

[Chaplin]

First of all, from what I understand, Minne cannot outright offer a max contract to Bledsoe. So what that means, I'm not sure.

 

[Covert Rain]

First of all, from what I understand, Minne cannot outright offer a max contract to Bledsoe. So what that means, I'm not sure.

It could be a 3 way trade? However, it doesn't appear they have the assets that you would expect the Suns to take back. I need to look again. It very well could be the Suns are simply fed up and in "take what we can get" mode.

 

[Hoop Head]

I'm not sure how incentives work in contracts in the NBA but could there be a way to offer him about what we did, maybe a little more like 4/52 or so, and have 10 million worth of incentives bringing him to his desired 4/63 that would be the road team max? I'm not sure if Paul would sign off but if that was offered it would make Bledsoe look like he wasn't confident in himself. I'm sure the biggest issue on the Suns side is his health and knees, say he plays 80%+ games each year and he gets the 4/63 otherwise he'd be at the 4/52 number. Like I said, I'm not sure how incentives work exactly in regards to NBA contracts, how they count against the cap and how much money can be tied to them. It may be an offer that I think would please all parties without making either look weak in the end for "caving".

 

[devilalum]

My guess is that Pekovic is exactly who they are offering. He's 28, quite prone to injuries and he's tainted with missing the playoffs as well as Love. They got a good young core in Rubio, Dieng and Wiggins and if they are hot to get Bledsoe, I'd say it was because they wanted to make themselves over into the Suns. Pek isn't a great fit for that on top of everything else.

I'm not excited about adding Pekovic for the same reasons I ascribed to Minny and he's not a good defender.

There's gotta be a 3rd team out there that would pay big for Pekovic.

 

[AzStevenCal]

There's gotta be a 3rd team out there that would pay big for Pekovic.

You'd pretty much have to design your team, offensively and defensively around his strengths and weaknesses. He'd be great in Chicago next to Noah and they'd have no trouble covering for his defensive weaknesses. That guy in San Antonio could probably find a way to make it work with him.

For most teams though, he'd rack up stats when healthy but the team would meet with little success. There is a reason that Minnesota never turned the corner even though they had several high profile starters. I'm not entirely positive what that reason was but I think it's safe to say that Pek was at least part of that problem.

Steve

 

[Hoop Head]

If the Wolves offer Pekovic in a sign-and-trade for Bledsoe, the Suns should instantly agree to any other terms of the deal before Minnesota gets smart and changes their minds. Pekovic has a much, much better chance of becoming a real player in this league than Plumlee and Len have put together.

Would you really like to have Pekovic here for the next 4 years costing us 12 million per year or cave into Bledsoe and give him 4/63? I don't think Pek is moveable on his contract, certainly not for quality assets, while so long as Bledsoe doesn't get microfracture surgery he should be moveable on that contract for a better return. We know what we get with Bledsoe meanwhile we don't really know how this team would look with Pek at the 5. Sure he might be an upgrade over Plumlee and Len this season but in 2-3 years I'd wager that either Plumlee or Len, possibly both, end up being better than him. Plumlee apparently got a lot better over last offseason, I'm sure free throws are something he'll be addressing this offseason and hopefully he'll be able to hit 70% or so that way he doesn't ride the pine through the 4th quarter like he did last year.

 

[elindholm]

Would you really like to have Pekovic here for the next 4 years costing us 12 million per year or cave into Bledsoe and give him 4/63?

Right, I forgot how old Pekovic was when I made that statement. (I recanted it somewhere else in this discussion, but can't remember where.)

I'd still rather have Pekovic than Bledsoe, because Pekovic fills a position of need, but it's not anywhere near as clear as I thought before.

 

[Mainstreet]

There's gotta be a 3rd team out there that would pay big for Pekovic.

I was taking a fresh look at it this morning and I believe you are right about Pekovic. The Suns need to get a third team involved if they have no interest in him. However, the Wolves would want a center in return.

 

[devilalum]

I was taking a fresh look at it this morning and I believe you are right about Pekovic. The Suns need to get a third team involved if they have no interest in him. However, the Wolves would want a center in return.

Alec Brown!

 

[Mainstreet]

Alec Brown!

There you go! However, I wouldn't be surprised to see Brown develop into a solid stretch 4 or 5 in the NBA later down the road.

I have sort of taken a liking to him.

 

[Covert Rain]

Are we there yet?

 

[Chaplin]

Here we go...

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA 6m
Phoenix, Eric Bledsoe have made progress on a new contract in past 48-72 hours, sources tell Yahoo. No deal yet, but significant momentum.

 

[Mainstreet]

Here we go...

I will feel better when I hear something from Gambo or Coro. I'll be glad when the Bledsoe situation is resolved.

 

[JerkFace]

I will feel better when I hear something from Gambo or Coro. I'll be glad when the Bledsoe situation is resolved.

Normally I would agree but Woj is the best in the business.

 

[Mainstreet]

I take nothing away from Adrian Wojnarowski as I follow him as well.

Here is a brief article by him about the present situation with Bledsoe.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/source...ake-progress-in-contract-talks-024157247.html

 

[Phrazbit]

Awesome news. Hope it gets hammered home. My money is still on something like 52 million 4 years, maybe they make the last year a player option since thats all the rage these days.