The House Holds All the Cards

Eric Bledsoe is searching for a maximum contract, but the Suns will not budge on their offer. How will the story conclude?

Player A has injury concerns, but in year four of his rookie contract, he showed he could be one of the most dynamic young point guards in the game. As one can deduce by the lead-in above, Player A sounds a lot like Eric Bledsoe.

And that person would be wrong.

Player A is Stephen Curry, a competitor who has now ascended into the upper echelon of NBA point guards. Prior to signing a four-year, $44 million dollar contract in 2012, there was the potential for Curry’s deal to become an albatross on the salary cap due to concerns over his ankle, which had been operated on twice in his short career.

Turning to Eric Bledsoe, the Suns see an uber-athletic point guard who is a nightly threat to post a triple-double. After posting career-best averages of 17.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists, Bledsoe has demanded a five-year, $80 million dollar maximum contract, though the Suns have only offered a four-year deal at $48 million dollars.

Bledsoe missed half of last season after tearing a meniscus in his right knee. The surgeon removed part of his meniscus as a result. Other NBA players with knee issues in the past have had similar surgeries, such as Dwyane Wade and Brandon Roy.

Comparing Bledsoe to Roy maybe slightly unfair, but the paranoia that exists in signing him to an eight-figure salary is real. While the Warriors now have one of the best bargains in the league with Curry, the Trail Blazers lost their franchise identity and had to amnesty Roy to avoid bottoming out completely. Suns GM Ryan McDonough has a complex puzzle at hand, and has to deal with it delicately, though the franchise holds all of the cards in the negotiation.

Bledsoe is a restricted free agent. This means the Suns have the right to match any offer sheet he signs with another team. If Bledsoe is searching for a max-deal, the 76ers are the only team left with enough cap space to sign him to the offer sheet, per Kevin Pelton. Given the 76ers recent history, this seems unlikely. In order to restrict Bledsoe, the Suns had to extend a qualifying offer to the guard of $3.7 million, which Bledsoe could accept to become an unrestricted free agent next season.

The risk for Bledsoe is extensive if his knees prove to be permanently damaged, as he could potentially miss out on $45 million dollars. The risk for the Suns is highly present as well; though, they have made it clear with their signing of Isaiah Thomas that Bledsoe is replaceable. The team also selected Syracuse point guard Tyler Ennis in the first round.

If Bledsoe and the Suns cannot come to an agreement, there is potential for Bledsoe to be moved in a sign and trade. Some sources have indicated that the Lakers are interested in acquiring his services, though the rumored package of Julius Randle, Jordan Hill and a first round pick should leave McDonough unenthused. A potential dark horse to acquire Bledsoe could be the Orlando Magic, who was pursuing him last summer before he was traded to Phoenix. The Magic has the young pieces to potentially put together a fair deal, though there have been no rumored discussions between the two teams.

This discussion will come down to Bledsoe’s willingness to take less than the maximum to stay with the Suns. The risk is far too great for him to test the unrestricted market next season, as injuries could continue to plague his promising career.

NBA teams spent millions of dollars overpaying players far inferior to Bledsoe, and has ultimately clogged the available cap room for Bledsoe to get a deal of his perceived value with another interested team. He likely resigns with the Suns for a deal similar to the one he has already been presented with.

After all (and especially in restricted free agency), the house holds all the cards.