Eric Bledsoe Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bledsoe, Suns Renew Talks

September 24th, 2014 at 3:30pm CST by Cray Allred

WEDNESDAY, 3:30pm: Both Bledsoe and his agent, Rich Paul, traveled to Phoenix today to meet with Suns management to discuss a new deal, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter links). No agreement is in place, but significant progress has been made according to Wojnarowski’s sources.

TUESDAY,10:00pm: In his full story, Wojnarowski adds that tomorrow’s round of negotiations are expected to be crucial in determining whether the two sides can come to terms on a contract before training camp. Phoenix has only increased their offer to approximately $50MM, a $500K difference in annual salary and still well below the max, according to Wojnarowski’s sources.

9:01pm: The Suns and Eric Bledsoe have made progress in the last few days on a new contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets. The two sides had been in a stalemate since Bledsoe balked at Phoenix’s initial four-year, $48MM offer. The Yahoo! scribe says a deal is not imminent, but that serious progress is being made.

Bledsoe had signaled a willingness to sign the Suns’ qualifying offer rather than settle on a contract below the max. The Rich Paul client had been seeking sign-and-trade opportunities with other teams, but Phoenix hasn’t been eager to facilitate any such move according to the latest reports. The most notable suitor was Minnesota, as the Wolves were reportedly willing to give the point guard a maximum salary had Phoenix been open to dealing for anyone on their roster.

While Bledsoe’s camp has been unwilling to budge, the Suns have been open to upping their offer. If the explosive point guard signs for less than a virtual max contract, however, Phoenix will have gotten the better end of the market this summer. While Chandler Parsons (near max) and Gordon Hayward (full max) were signed to lucrative offer sheets as restricted free agents, Phoenix effectively spooked other teams from inking Bledsoe to the same by insisting they would match any such offer. It’s clear that at least one team would have valued Bledsoe at the max on the open market, but Phoenix is attempting to use the mechanics of restricted free agency to secure him for the long term for substantially less.

And-Ones: Cap, Walker, Bledsoe, Rubio, Wiggins

September 23rd, 2014 at 11:43am CST by Chuck Myron

Some teams think the salary cap will jump above $70MM for next season, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports, though Lowe’s dispatch from a week ago indicated that the league has told clubs not to get carried away with their projections for the time being. Clarity on the matter will be important, especially for clubs with players up for extensions to their rookie-scale contracts before the October 31st deadline. Lowe’s latest piece centers on one such case, as the Hornets face a decision about whether to extend Kemba Walker, whom rival executives often say isn’t a “championship point guard,” according to Lowe. We’ll pass along another tidbit from the Grantland scribe amid the latest from around the league:

The Suns haven’t shown much interest in sign-and-trades involving Eric Bledsoe, Lowe hears, advancing Friday’s report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that threw cold water on the idea that Bledsoe would end up with the Wolves.
The Wolves and Ricky Rubio‘s camp remain in a stalemate in extension negotiations in part because agents Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana know that the Knicks and Lakers can open cap space next summer, writes Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter links).
Rumors as late as the eve of the draft suggested that the Cavs were conflicted about whom to take No. 1 overall, but coach David Blatt insists the team had settled on Andrew Wiggins long before making him the top pick, as Blatt tells Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer. Cleveland didn’t hold on to Wiggins for long, of course, shipping him to the Wolves in the Kevin Love trade.
Nazr Mohammed‘s contract with the Bulls is non-guaranteed for the minimum salary and covers just one season, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Clippers signee Jared Cunningham rejected a deal from Serbia’s KK Partizan to instead try his hand at making the opening-night roster in L.A. on his non-guaranteed contract, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com.

Pacific Notes: Bledsoe, Lakers, Griffin, Redick

September 22nd, 2014 at 7:05pm CST by Charlie Adams

When the Suns made it clear they weren’t interested in working out a sign-and-trade that would send Eric Bledsoe to the Wolves, teams around the league started presenting Phoenix with offers of their own for the restricted free agent, writes David Aldridge of NBA.com. Bledsoe and the Suns have until October 1st to work out a new deal, or else the talented young guard is reportedly poised to sign the team’s qualifying offer which would otherwise expire that day. Here’s more from the Pacific Division..

The Lakers would be a logical destination for Bledsoe, writes Aldridge in the same piece. Steve Nash‘s old age and the club’s cap flexibility next summer help make Los Angeles a realistic landing spot for the 24-year-old, opines Aldridge.
Blake Griffin opposed the idea that he and his Clippers teammates should mount a protest last spring in the immediate wake of the Donald Sterling controversy, believing that any such action would lend undue influence to Sterling, as Griffin explains to Zach Baron of GQ. Griffin added that he’s satisfied with the league’s response.
J.J. Redick never foresaw a boycott taking place, either, as he tells Jeff Caplan of NBA.com. “I always felt we were going to play,” Redick said. “Doc’s [coach Doc Rivers] leadership during the entire situation was outstanding. We followed his lead. He felt we should play. I also was confident that [NBA commissioner] Adam Silver would take the correct course of action before any sort of league-wide protest took place. And Adam did.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Bledsoe, Wolves, Warriors

September 19th, 2014 at 8:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

If Eric Bledsoe doesn’t end up with a different team and he ends up signing a qualifying offer from the Suns, then Phoenix is the best possible place to play out the season, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders writes. Brigham notes that the Suns have the best training staff in the league, which significantly reduces the risk of Bledsoe incurring an injury that would impact his earning potential next Summer.

Here’s more from out west:

Brigham also notes that Bledsoe might not have the same opportunity this year as he did last season to showcase his talents since the Suns are so deep at the point guard position with Goran Dragic, Isaiah Thomas, and Tyler Ennis all potentially cutting into Bledsoe’s minutes.
The Timberwolves have a tough decision on their hands when it comes to Ricky Rubio, writes Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders. Minnesota is a team in transition and Rubio has proven to be an effective, but not spectacular, floor general. The T’Wolves could either invest in Rubio’s upside or wait for next summer where another franchise could choose to overpay and put pressure on Minnesota to match a max deal.
With versatile guard Shaun Livingston in the fold, the Warriors may be closer to title contention than anyone thinks, writes Moke Hamilton in Basketball Insiders‘ season preview of the Warriors. Golden State has one of the league’s very best starting fives (if healthy) and the bench is strong too, but Hamilton’s chief concern is first-year coach Steve Kerr. In his estimation, the effectiveness of Kerr will be one of the most compelling storylines of the year.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Wolves Offer Eric Bledsoe Max Deal

September 19th, 2014 at 4:53pm CST by Zachary Links

4:53pm: The Suns have no interest in a sign-and-trade deal with Minnesota, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. According to Wojnarowski’s sources the Suns are only interested in trading Bledsoe for an All-Star, or a potential All-Star player, and had only considered Kevin Love in a possible sign-and-trade scenario with the Wolves.

3:53pm: The Suns own the Wolves’ 2015 first-round pick but it’s top-12 protected. Removing or reducing the protection could be a part of the Bledsoe talks, tweets Windhorst.

3:25pm: The Wolves are offering Eric Bledsoe a four-year, $63MM maximum level contract, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The offer turns up the heat on the Suns, who have offered the restricted free agent a four-year, $48MM deal. The Wolves don’t have the necessary cap room to sign the guard outright, so they’d have to swing a sign-and-trade deal with Phoenix.

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reported yesterday that the Wolves were still in talks with the Suns on a sign-and-trade deal even after the completion of the Kevin Love deal. The possibility of the Wolves making a play for the 24-year-old seemed somewhat remote after Love was shipped to the Cavs, but it’s now very much a reality.

While the Suns and the Rich Paul client have been in a stalemate this summer, Phoenix was reportedly willing to dial up their offer if necessary. An increase of roughly $15MM probably wasn’t what they had in mind, however. Bledsoe’s camp made it known to Phoenix and every other team that he was only interested in signing a max contract. Otherwise, he said he was prepared to sign a one-year, $3.7MM qualifying offer with the Suns that would enable him to become an unencumbered free agent next summer. Fellow restricted free agent Greg Monroe made the same threat to the Pistons and made good on his promise earlier this summer.

In a sign-and-trade deal, the Suns would want Andrew Wiggins, according to Wolfson (on Twitter). That’s less-than-preferable for the Wolves, however, and that wouldn’t be a match, according to Wolfson. This is purely speculative, but since the Wolves were entertaining a Love-for-Bledsoe swap and Wiggins was the primary haul of the Love deal with Cleveland, it’s seems possible that the Wolves would consider including the No. 1 overall pick.

The Suns obviously want to keep Bledsoe (at the right price) but they would still have a very strong backcourt without the Kentucky product. The Suns have a highly-talented guard in Goran Dragic and the addition of free agent guard Isaiah Thomas on a four-year, $27MM deal would also lessen the sting. Phoenix also has first-round guard Tyler Ennis in reserve.

Bledsoe averaged 17.7 points and 5.5 assists across 43 games for the Suns last season after being traded from the Clippers. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury which cost him a good chunk of his 2013/14 campaign.

Jude LaCava of FOX 10 in Phoenix (on Twitter) first reported that the Wolves were prepared to offer Bledsoe a max deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Northwest Notes: Wolves, Bledsoe, Barea

September 18th, 2014 at 12:40pm CST by Zachary Links

Yesterday, University of Texas quarterback David Ash announced that he will give up football after dealing with concussion symptoms throughout his time in Austin. Thunder star Kevin Durant, who spent a season at UT, took to Twitter to send Ash a supportive message. “Thank you David Ash, you gave your all to the University of Texas. I respect your decision and good luck in the future my brother,” Durant wrote. Here’s today’s look at Durant’s rivals in the Northwest Division..

Even after the completion of the Kevin Love trade, the Wolves have talked with the Suns about a deal for Eric Bledsoe, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter). However, there’s no real match there between the two teams. Bledsoe has been offered a four-year, $48MM deal from the Suns and while there’s currently a stalemate, the Suns may be willing to sweeten that proposal if talks open up again.
More from Wolfson (link) who is asked by a reader if the Wolves are getting interest in J.J. Barea. No bites yet, he says, as other teams would want another piece in a trade. There’s nothing imminent on that front and the Wolves will wait to see if another team loses a guard to injury in preseason.
Wolves GM Milt Newton says that he’s hopeful that he can hammer out a new deal with Ricky Rubio, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. “I feel optimistic. Knowing Ricky the person, he wants to be here. Now we just have to deal with his agent,” Milton said.
In their preview of the Trail Blazers, HoopsHype expresses concern over the state of Portland’s bench. With sixth man Mo Williams gone, few of the remaining reserves can be trusted to give the team much, in their view. They have the Blazers finishing second in the Northwest Division and fifth in the Western Conference.

And-Ones: Bledsoe, Ayon, Gallinari

September 6th, 2014 at 9:41pm CST by Cray Allred

Derrick Rose continued to struggle offensively in Team USA’s victory over Mexico today, but both Rose and coach Tom Thibodeau insisted to reporters including K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that his passiveness and shooting woes will not carry over in the Bulls‘ season.

“Being here is great,” said Rose. “It’s getting me a chance to really get in condition and get in that rhythm I’ve been talking about. Me getting better individually defensively and seeing how I can read the game and affect the game without scoring.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Despite looking into sign-and-trade options for disgruntled restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe, the Suns are still prioritizing signing the point guard long-term, and would likely increase their four-year, $48MM offer if negotiations were revisited, reports Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Bledsoe’s agent has been unwilling to discuss any deal for less than the max.
Gustavo Ayon is still in contract discussions with Real Madrid, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). The big man is deciding between a variety of NBA and international opportunities.
Danilo Gallinari tells La Gazzetta dello Sport (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando) that he regrets having The Steadman Clinic of Vail perform the surgery on his torn ACL in late 2012. The Nuggets small forward was expecting a relatively quick recovery, but ended up sitting out all of last season after needing additional surgeries. Gallinari referenced Russell Westbrook‘s repeat surgeries with Steadman, along with other athletes’ bumpy recoveries, as another strike against the clinic’s reputation.

And-Ones: Bledsoe, Monroe, Augustin

September 5th, 2014 at 10:34pm CST by Cray Allred

Nothing has changed in the standoff between Eric Bledsoe and the Suns, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the point guard’s agent is holding firm on his demand for no less than a max offer. Here’s more from around the league, including more on the floor general some have dubbed the “mini-LeBron:”

On his Instagram profile, LeBron James himself challenged the Suns to up their offer to Bledsoe, presumably to the point guard’s desired max salary (H/T Micah Peters of For The Win ). James, like Bledsoe, is represented by Klutch Sports Group agent Rich Paul.
Chris Mannix of SI.com thinks Greg Monroe‘s decision to sign his qualifying offer with the Pistons is a bold, “high risk, high reward” choice, citing variables that could work against him including injury, diminished play, or reduced playing time under new coach Stan Van Gundy (on Twitter).
D.J. Augustin tells Keith Langlois of Pistons.com that he wasn’t let down by the two-year, $6MM contract he signed with the Pistons this summer. “Anything can happen in free agency or in this business, period,” said Augustin. “So I had no expectations because it could go either way. I was just happy to be signing with a good organization, a good team and getting the opportunity to play again.”
The point guard credits Tom Thibodeau, who most recently coached him with the Bulls, for rejuvenating his play. “Not only did he give me the opportunity, he actually brought my love for the game back,” Augustin said. “You kind of lose that a little bit, your passion for the game, throughout the years in the NBA depending on playing time and different situations you may be put in…I owe him a lot. I give him credit for bringing my passion for the game back and wanting to learn and play hard. [Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy] reminds me a lot of [Thibodeau]. They’re both good coaches. He’s putting us on the right track to be a good team.”

Rockets, Lakers Eye Goran Dragic For 2015

September 3rd, 2014 at 1:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets are considering a pursuit of Goran Dragic if he turns down his $7.5MM player option to hit free agency next summer, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Lakers are one of many teams around the league also likely to push for Dragic and Eric Bledsoe if they both become unrestricted free agents a year from now, Stein also hears. The prospect that the pair would hit free agency, which hinges on Bledsoe accepting his qualifying offer from the Suns, would prompt teams to go after the guards based on the idea that the Suns would have trouble re-signing both of them in the same summer, as Stein explains.

The apparent worsening relationship between Bledsoe and the Suns makes it tough to envision him re-signing with the team if he takes the qualifying offer, Stein writes. That makes sense, since only one of the 16 players to hit unrestricted free agency the year after signing a qualifying offer re-signed with his team. Bledsoe and the Suns are both pursuing sign-and-trades that would ward off the qualifying offer, according to Stein, but time is running short, since the qualifying offer expires on October 1st, a date that will force a decision.

Dragic would garner increased leverage if Bledsoe inks the qualifying offer, since the Suns almost certainly don’t want to lose both members of their dynamic starting backcourt, as Stein points out. Dragic flourished like never before in coach Jeff Hornacek‘s system this past season, but he’ll turn 29 in May, so there’s a decent chance that the client of BDA Sports Management will never have a better chance to cash in and take the most lucrative deal on the table. Dragic spent parts of two seasons with the Rockets in between stints with Phoenix, and Houston is among the teams with interest in signing his brother, who apparently envisions coming to the the NBA before long.

The Lakers reportedly had interest in floating a lucrative offer sheet to Bledsoe this summer before deciding against it. They can open roughly $30MM in cap space next year, while Houston is set up for only about half of that amount. Still, the Suns only have about $17MM in commitments for 2015/16, so they have plenty of room to accommodate the demands of Bledsoe and Dragic, should they choose, and they’d also have Bird rights on the duo.

Poll: Should Bledsoe, Monroe Sign QOs?

August 29th, 2014 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Monday will mark two months since the start of free agency, and still two of the top five players on the 2014 Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings remain unsigned. The restricted free agencies of Eric Bledsoe and Greg Monroe have dragged on longer than it seemed reasonable to expect, even though teams and their restricted free agents often engage in protracted negotiations, as the Wolves and Nikola Pekovic did last year. There’s little doubting the game-changing ability of either, but the power for Phoenix and Detroit to match all other offers for their respective young stars appears to have effectively short-circuited the market.

Reports have indicated that both Bledsoe and Monroe are prepared to sign their qualifying offers, the standard one-year offers that teams must make at the start of free agency to retain matching rights on their restricted free agents. One report amid a series of dispatches earlier this month indicated that Monroe had already let the Pistons know he would accept the qualifying offer, though other reports conflict with that notion. Bledsoe is insisting that he either receive a max deal or he’ll take the qualifying offer, according to the latest we’ve seen on him.

Signing the qualifying offer would represent a drastic step. Monroe’s QO is worth a shade less than $5.48MM, while Bledsoe would make just $3.727MM this season if he signed his. The Pistons and Suns appear to have made long-term offers that would pay much more than that. Phoenix reportedly has four years and $48MM on the table for Bledsoe, while the Pistons are apparently willing to give Monroe more than $54MM over four years. Still, the max for both would be a five-year, $84,789,500 contract, and it seems neither would be satisfied settling for less. Sign-and-trades remain a possibility, but it doesn’t appear as though there’s much traction toward one for either of the free agents stuck in limbo.

Bledsoe and Monroe could hit unrestricted free agency in a year if they sign their qualifying offers, and while it would seem that both would field more competitive offers from teams who would no longer have to worry that the Suns or Pistons would match, there are no guarantees. Bledsoe has only started 78 games in his career, and it appears few around the NBA regard Monroe as someone worthy of a maximum-salary contract. Only 17 players have signed qualifying offers in the past two decades, and none have carried cachet of either Bledsoe or Monroe, underscoring just what an unusual move it would be.

Let us know whether you think signing the qualifying offer, and the chance to hit unrestricted free agency in a year that comes with it, would be worthwhile for Bledsoe and Monroe, or if you think they should take the more lucrative long-term deals in front of them. Weigh in on your choice in the comments.