Offseason Thread 6: The Not So Mexican Stand-off Continues

[NotTraxxe]

We are in negotiations with BC Unicaja. Should be a done deal this year he is coming over. The plan was to bring him over next year but he got exposure and interest due to his play and we moved the timetable up.

Bledsoe is trade bait. Look to him to be traded either shortly after he signs the QO. No offers out there we are seriously considering. The Minnesota thing never was much of anyhing. And those talks happened a bit ago with a few hang up offers made we said no thanks to. He is threatening to sign for the QO and he refuses to talk to the Org. He isn't communicating with coaches, nor players, and he expects a max deal.

Here is maybe a tidbit: We are not shopping Bledsoe. We are not looking for deals. We are not trying to move him for his benefit. And this is pissing him off. Players in the NBA be gettin' spoiled, yo.

Dragic should be done late this week or early next I'm told. But pretty much hammering the details.

[phrazbit]

I agree that Green is gone after this year, and I would not be surprised to see him traded during the season. If Bledsoe returns I expect Green's minutes to decline the most from last year's core. The guy can provide instant offense but he is a disaster defensively.

As for Zoran's potential, his European stats are concerning. He needs to get better from 3, and i mean a LOT better from range if he is going to get minutes in the NBA. He is a 29% shooter from the Euro 3, and thats with crappy euro defenders on him. I'd assume that is what has kept him out of the NBA until this summer, but perhaps teams saw something different about him this time around. If not he wont be here long.

[aIvin adams]

We are in negotiations with BC Unicaja. Should be a done deal this year he is coming over. The plan was to bring him over next year but he got exposure and interest due to his play and we moved the timetable up.

Bledsoe is trade bait. Look to him to be traded either shortly after he signs the QO. No offers out there we are seriously considering. The Minnesota thing never was much of anyhing. And those talks happened a bit ago with a few hang up offers made we said no thanks to. He is threatening to sign for the QO and he refuses to talk to the Org. He isn't communicating with coaches, nor players, and he expects a max deal.

Here is maybe a tidbit: We are not shopping Bledsoe. We are not looking for deals. We are not trying to move him for his benefit. And this is pissing him off. Players in the NBA be gettin' spoiled, yo.

Dragic should be done late this week or early next I'm told. But pretty much hammering the details.

how much could the suns get for bledsoe if he signs the QO?

seems like it wouldn't be much at all

[aIvin adams]

I agree that Green is gone after this year, and I would not be surprised to see him traded during the season. If Bledsoe returns I expect Green's minutes to decline the most from last year's core. The guy can provide instant offense but he is a disaster defensively.

As for Zoran's potential, his European stats are concerning. He needs to get better from 3, and i mean a LOT better from range if he is going to get minutes in the NBA. He is a 29% shooter from the Euro 3, and thats with crappy euro defenders on him. I'd assume that is what has kept him out of the NBA until this summer, but perhaps teams saw something different about him this time around. If not he wont be here long.

shot well in in the World Cup tho

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I agree that Green is gone after this year, and I would not be surprised to see him traded during the season. If Bledsoe returns I expect Green's minutes to decline the most from last year's core. The guy can provide instant offense but he is a disaster defensively.

As for Zoran's potential, his European stats are concerning. He needs to get better from 3, and i mean a LOT better from range if he is going to get minutes in the NBA. He is a 29% shooter from the Euro 3, and thats with crappy euro defenders on him. I'd assume that is what has kept him out of the NBA until this summer, but perhaps teams saw something different about him this time around. If not he wont be here long.

My guess is they like his potential as a defender. A lot of the league's better defensive wings couldn't crack the NBA at 21 or 22 and had to continue to develop. Guys like Raja Bell, Bruce Bowen, and PJ Tucker were all considered below-average shooters until they put in the work on that part of their game and became great 3&D guys. I think the Suns intend to put a lot of effort into helping Zoran improve his 3 in order to put him on a similar path.

[aIvin adams]

zoran looks like his bro when he's taking the ball to the rim.

it's cool. he's worth a couple million dollars just to confuse my old man when we're watching the game on TV.

[Years90Suns]

Next summer we stop paying Childress more than 7 mill, which is agaisnt Sarver's savings, and more than 2 to Beasley. Also 3 to Green.
Then we will have to be ready to extend offers to the twins and begin negotiating with Goran, who probably will opt out of his 7.5 option.

Zoran is coming here 90% to please his brother. Then, he showed a great improvement this summer in the WC. But it is not that he is doing things differently, or better. The fact is that he is doing things with much more decision and will. That, for a player whose main carachteristic is attacking the rim, is a very good sign.
He can provide some scoring, getting PFs and getting into a system that fits him completely if Thomas, Goods or Ennis do not find their place on the court.

[lilfishi22]

Geez are we STILL paying Childress? Seemed a lifetime ago when he was warming our bench.

[SunsFanSSOL]

Bummed about this Zoran Dragic news. Also, Bledsoe will be untradable if he takes the QO.

[bwgood77]

Bummed about this Zoran Dragic news. Also, Bledsoe will be untradable if he takes the QO.

I wouldn't say untradable. If any playoff bound team has an injury at pg or would just like to add depth for the season they would surely give away a first round pick for a guy like Bledsoe.

Imagine how different OKC would have been in the playoffs last year if they didn't have to play Fisher so many minutes in games.

I don't think we'd get much, but it would be very similar to the Gortat situation. Teams eager to make the playoffs at all costs like Brooklyn would try to get him too.

[jcsunsfan]

We are in negotiations with BC Unicaja. Should be a done deal this year he is coming over. The plan was to bring him over next year but he got exposure and interest due to his play and we moved the timetable up.

Bledsoe is trade bait. Look to him to be traded either shortly after he signs the QO. No offers out there we are seriously considering. The Minnesota thing never was much of anyhing. And those talks happened a bit ago with a few hang up offers made we said no thanks to. He is threatening to sign for the QO and he refuses to talk to the Org. He isn't communicating with coaches, nor players, and he expects a max deal.

Here is maybe a tidbit: We are not shopping Bledsoe. We are not looking for deals. We are not trying to move him for his benefit. And this is pissing him off. Players in the NBA be gettin' spoiled, yo.

Dragic should be done late this week or early next I'm told. But pretty much hammering the details.

So. Suns mgmt is OK with Eric signing the QO? Maybe they even have a trade worked out for post-QO Eric?

[lilfishi22]

The QO isn't ideal and the front office would have a contingency plan it Bledsoe ended up on the QO. I'm sure our front office has been looking at scenarios but have yet to act on any of them until the deadline has come and gone.

[JTrain]

Ultimately I don't think Bledsoe will pass up something in the neighborhood of 4/54 with the massive risk associated with the QO. Perhaps the fourth year can be made a player option so that he could get more money after year three if he is healthy and playing at a high level, considering he will then be in the next experience bracket AND the cap will likely be considerably higher.

That's a tradeable contract as far as I can tell, so if he really has hard feelings and/or doesn't like being here, we can wait for the best possible trade and pull the trigger.

[JDLAW]

I agree that Green is gone after this year, and I would not be surprised to see him traded during the season. If Bledsoe returns I expect Green's minutes to decline the most from last year's core. The guy can provide instant offense but he is a disaster defensively.

As for Zoran's potential, his European stats are concerning. He needs to get better from 3, and i mean a LOT better from range if he is going to get minutes in the NBA. He is a 29% shooter from the Euro 3, and thats with crappy euro defenders on him. I'd assume that is what has kept him out of the NBA until this summer, but perhaps teams saw something different about him this time around. If not he wont be here long.

I do not think Green is gone this year of next. I think the Suns like him and know what he brings to the table in this system. They won't overpay for him, but they will not dump him either.

[Superbone]

it's cool. he's worth a couple million dollars just to confuse my old man when we're watching the game on TV.

[Saberestar]

Reggie Jackson monitoring Eric Bledsoe contract negotiations

....But along comes Bledsoe, who is the closest comparison to Reggie Jackson not just this summer but perhaps throughout the league.

Their production through their respective first three seasons, when both backed up All-Star point guards, is nearly identical. Jackson averaged 1.3 more points. Bledsoe averaged 0.3 more assists. Jackson averaged 0.1 more rebounds. Bledsoe averaged 0.5 more steals. Their field goal percentages were an identical 43.1 percent.

You can be sure Jackson’s camp has crunched those numbers and presented them to the Thunder as a comparison.

The statistical production of the two players was not far apart even last season, when Bledsoe battled injuries but enjoyed much more freedom in his first year with the Suns. Bledsoe averaged only 4.6 more points, 0.2 more rebounds and 0.8 more assists.

If at least one team is willing to reward Bledsoe with an average salary of $15.75 million, Jackson and his team surely must be looking at a deal with at least a $12 million annual salary.

Additionally, the bad news for the Thunder if Bledsoe does indeed migrate from Phoenix to Minnesota is that it wouldn’t eliminate one of the four teams that could make a hard run at Jackson next summer. Dallas, Miami, New York and the Los Angeles Lakers all have a pressing need for a point guard and are projected to have enough cap space in July to aggressively pursue one.

http://m.newsok.com/oklahoma-city-thund ... 314?page=1

[JDLAW]

We are in negotiations with BC Unicaja. Should be a done deal this year he is coming over. The plan was to bring him over next year but he got exposure and interest due to his play and we moved the timetable up.

Bledsoe is trade bait. Look to him to be traded either shortly after he signs the QO. No offers out there we are seriously considering. The Minnesota thing never was much of anyhing. And those talks happened a bit ago with a few hang up offers made we said no thanks to. He is threatening to sign for the QO and he refuses to talk to the Org. He isn't communicating with coaches, nor players, and he expects a max deal.

Here is maybe a tidbit: We are not shopping Bledsoe. We are not looking for deals. We are not trying to move him for his benefit. And this is pissing him off. Players in the NBA be gettin' spoiled, yo.

Dragic should be done late this week or early next I'm told. But pretty much hammering the details.

We already knew he is not talking to anyone with the Suns - we knew that from a while back. I believe his so-called agent is getting upset because his heretofore amateurish attempts at creating market opportunities is not moving the needle at all. Did anyone really think that getting Flip Saunders to say he'd offer Bledsoe a max deal, in light of the fact he is $9M over the cap and cannot offer one cent would do anything? If Rich Paul and Mark Termini thought this would force the Suns' hand, they are more clueless than thought.

But as for Bledsoe getting pissed off, how do we know this when he will not communicate? As for Bledsoe being trade bait, that is somewhat interesting also. Trading him on a QO gives him leverage to decline, it will not be an easy trade. Signing a non-QO contract keeps him out of the trade market until Dec. You also have to ask yourself why sign such a contract if the Suns are just going to trade him.

Lots of thing can be read into your message, but what his sounds to me is that, Bledsoe's representatives are getting frustrated with their inability to gain leverage and are throwing out anything to see if it sticks. The rumor with Minnesota was laughable and was easily dissected within about 5 minutes after Brian Windwhore came out with it.

If Bledsoe is truly "pissed off" at the Suns, his anger is terribly misdirected. He hired and is permitting a couple of truly incompetent agents to damage his reputation within the NBA and potentially sabotage his career because they are afraid to actually sit down with the Suns and do the hard work of a competent agent in negotiating a contract.

I actually feel a bit sorry for Bledsoe because he is living in an echo chamber where people are kissing his behind (James included) and telling him how great he is and how entitled he is. He might be a bit too weak-minded to recognize this.

[JDLAW]

My final rant on the day for Bledsoe.

I cannot wait for this to draw to a conclusion. I am so tired and disgusted at the increasingly silly one sided trades proposed by the dregs of the NBA (Minn, Mil, etc..) wherein they propose we take the crap off the end of their benches for Bledsoe. Hopefully all of that goes away shortly.

[Saberestar]

David Aldridge

The Rockets, of course, are always willing to inject themselves into trade talks at the drop of a hat. While Patrick Beverley is a perfectly good starter at the point going into the season, Bledsoe is a better player. Houston GM Daryl Morey is always interested in upgrading any position.
The Rockets have enough cap room to absorb another big contract, though they'd have to move multiple players in order to fulfill Bledsoe's desire for a max deal. On the other hand, Houston needs to jettison at least one contract before the start of camp, anyway, as the Rockets currently have 16 guaranteed deals, one more than the maximum 15 allowed to bring to camp.

You hear that the Bucks have been talking Bledsoe all summer, as they should be. They have cap room, they have young, good role players on reasonable contracts (John Henson, Brandon Knight) and they have intriguing Draft picks in the future (their second-rounders, likely coming high in those rounds, will have much hidden value the next couple of years). While I doubt Phoenix would be interested in taking on Larry Sanders' or O.J. Mayo's big contracts, there are a lot of assets to put together for a sign and trade that would allow the Bucks to add Bledsoe to their Giannis Antetokounmpo-Jabari Parker base.

Having more credible talent like Bledsoe could also only help the Bucks as they try to find state and local financing for the new arena they need to keep the team in Milwaukee. While there's muted optimism in Milwaukee that the political forces necessary to fund the public piece of the partnership required to get an arena deal done will fall into place, the proof will only come when the money's in the budget. NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum was in town last week to meet with Mayor Tom Barrett and the club's new owners, and to scout out potential locations in the city for the new building.

There's also a California-based NBA franchise that will be looking for a long-term solution at the point after this season. (This team currently has a 40-year-old incumbent at the position.) It will have an inordinate amount of cap room next summer, more than enough for a max offer to a still-young point guard with superstar potential. It would be a gamble for Bledsoe to play this season on the chance that that team would come calling next summer, but that's why they sell insurance, right?

Bledsoe has been quiet almost all summer about his intentions. But if he opts to play the year out in Phoenix on relatively short money, it's hard to see 2014 as anything but his last year in the Valley of the Sun.

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/features/d ... index.html

[Sunsdeuce]

David Aldridge

The Rockets, of course, are always willing to inject themselves into trade talks at the drop of a hat. While Patrick Beverley is a perfectly good starter at the point going into the season, Bledsoe is a better player. Houston GM Daryl Morey is always interested in upgrading any position.
The Rockets have enough cap room to absorb another big contract, though they'd have to move multiple players in order to fulfill Bledsoe's desire for a max deal. On the other hand, Houston needs to jettison at least one contract before the start of camp, anyway, as the Rockets currently have 16 guaranteed deals, one more than the maximum 15 allowed to bring to camp.

You hear that the Bucks have been talking Bledsoe all summer, as they should be. They have cap room, they have young, good role players on reasonable contracts (John Henson, Brandon Knight) and they have intriguing Draft picks in the future (their second-rounders, likely coming high in those rounds, will have much hidden value the next couple of years). While I doubt Phoenix would be interested in taking on Larry Sanders' or O.J. Mayo's big contracts, there are a lot of assets to put together for a sign and trade that would allow the Bucks to add Bledsoe to their Giannis Antetokounmpo-Jabari Parker base.

Having more credible talent like Bledsoe could also only help the Bucks as they try to find state and local financing for the new arena they need to keep the team in Milwaukee. While there's muted optimism in Milwaukee that the political forces necessary to fund the public piece of the partnership required to get an arena deal done will fall into place, the proof will only come when the money's in the budget. NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum was in town last week to meet with Mayor Tom Barrett and the club's new owners, and to scout out potential locations in the city for the new building.

There's also a California-based NBA franchise that will be looking for a long-term solution at the point after this season. (This team currently has a 40-year-old incumbent at the position.) It will have an inordinate amount of cap room next summer, more than enough for a max offer to a still-young point guard with superstar potential. It would be a gamble for Bledsoe to play this season on the chance that that team would come calling next summer, but that's why they sell insurance, right?

Bledsoe has been quiet almost all summer about his intentions. But if he opts to play the year out in Phoenix on relatively short money, it's hard to see 2014 as anything but his last year in the Valley of the Sun.

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/features/d ... index.html

Thanks for posting. The only issue I have is that all these articles are just saying stuff that everyone already know. Nothing new in this article that we didn't know.

I'm just waiting for some real juicy info. We haven't had anything good come out in months.

Everything we have known for months:
1) Houston has Bledsoe (as well as dragic, not happening) on their wish list. Unsure what they would be willing to give up.
2) lakers have Bledsoe on their wish list. They really only toyed with the idea but Kobe already said he would love to have Bledsoe.
3) the bucks have Bledsoe on their wish list (bucks fans remind us over and over). Unwilling to part with assets, only players they no one wants.
4) wolves would love Bledsoe but are unwilling to part with their assets. Only their garbage.
5) Bledsoe has not and is not willing to talk to the suns. Only wants a max contract and if not will take the QO. He will be free to "escape" from the suns if he takes the QO. Most people agree he has acted very unprofessionally with the help of his posse.

We have talked about all of this stuff over and over. Give us something new.


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