Eric Bledsoe

[Saberestar]

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Bledsoe does not look happy with this decision, it is not common to shut down a healthy player with 15 games to go.

Tooo many games left. Probably the league has something to say about it. One thing is to rest a guy for a game here and there, other thing is shut him down 15 consecutive games...is too much.

On the other hand, I love the opportunity to watch Ulis as a starter. I like him more than Bledsoe as a PG so I am happy watching Ulis 35 mpg.

[kennydorglas]

15 worthless games, freak injury history, he was already giving no damn in his last 3 games. Why push the issue?
If he's really mad about this, we'll have a new PG next year for damn sure.

[King4Day]

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According to Gambo we're shutting down Bled for the season, this tank just got some new armor

Well, I guess what many fans wanted, particularly because of his injury history.

I mean why not? It doesnt do Eric or the Suns any good to be out there. No other way around it.

Seems some Suns fans are upset at this.
I get wanting to compete, but It's a bit risky. Imagine Bledsoe tore an ACL or achillies (I know I've mentioned this before). That'd be a downer going into next season.
I hope Knight does end up playing some so we can try building up his value some.

[ATTL]

If bledsoe blew out his knee in the last 15 games the general board would be screaming about how stupid the sums are for letting him play meaningless games.
I prefer this route.

[blacksun]

I mean I understand if Bled is a bit frustrated by this. Dude has spent half his career on the bench unable to play due to injuries, and now that he is physically able to, he is benched.

But I think he'll realize the bigger picture next year when he's on the fast break with Book ahead on the three point line on his right, and a streaking JJ on his left. Exciting times ahead guys. We deserve this.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I mean I understand if Bled is a bit frustrated by this. Dude has spent half his career on the bench unable to play due to injuries, and now that he is physically able to, he is benched.

But I think he'll realize the bigger picture next year when he's on the fast break with Book ahead on the three point line on his right, and a streaking JJ on his left. Exciting times ahead guys. We deserve this.

I doubt Bled gives a **** about playing with a rookie. His prime is now. I'm sure he doesn't want to wait til 2020 for games to matter.

If we're at the top of the draft, we're not drafting a center. Alex is gone. Our biggest long-term hole is the center spot.

I think we're going to try to deal Bled for a young center this summer. As for whether we'll draft a 1 or a 3 - we'll see. One of Ulis and Warren is about to be the Hornacek to someone's Majerle.

[blacksun]

I dont think Sarver meant that we would be tanking til 2020 coz if I recall correctly, he used the word contender in his speech. We can try to win anytime between next year and 2020. But yes I do think the Suns will look for what they can get for Bled this offseason, although im not so sure what kind of returns we should expect for the center position if ever.

On a side note, it feels so weird to have salty Sixers fans calling us out for tanking. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

[darealjuice]

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We're making the right choice shutting him down, especially if he's really having knee soreness, although I'd prefer that to just be a cop out for management. We played the last 10 games pretty well with him, but now we have nothing to play for and wins can only hurt our future from here on. It's going to be really interesting to see what direction we go in the draft, Bledsoe and Warren have both played some good basketball at times this year and it's tough not to picture the players we draft having an effect on them when the top prospects are almost all PGs and SFs. It's definitely not common for players of Bled's caliber to be shut down, but considering his injury history and our current situation it was necessary. If he's part of our future, then we need him healthy all offseason working with the young guys too.

[MathiasPW]

If he didn't want to be shut down he should have won us more games, simple as that.

If you are not a winning team, at some point ur FO will start tanking to get better talent next year. The Suns actually stayed on the "let's compete" path for much longer than expected, given their record.

[ATTL]

If we draft a point guard, trade bledsoe for the best offer.
If we can get anything for knight, make the trade. If we have to give up anything to get out of his contract then sit him next year too.

I'm done with injury prone players and players with chronic knees.

[Saberestar]

If he didn't want to be shut down he should have won us more games, simple as that.

If you are not a winning team, at some point ur FO will start tanking to get better talent next year. The Suns actually stayed on the "let's compete" path for much longer than expected, given their record.

Yeah, but 15 consecutive games resting when you are healthy and one of the best players? Not too many teams are doing that.

It would have been OK resting him for the last 5 games of the season. We are not gonna win too many games with or without Bledsoe.

I understand why he is probably frustrated. He was not playing well the last few games but he wants to play because we are gonna have a BIG break until October and he is really competitive.

I like the idea of watching Ulis a ton of minutes on the court, he is gonna make everyone better around him. I am excited about it, so I am happy with that decision...but I am afraid of malcontents in the locker room. It is a thin line.

[Bogyo]

He was not fully healthy. I've read knee soreness/hyperextended knee multiple times, plus he was playing trash last 3 games. It was a good decision to shut him down. He could return for the last 5 games when he is healthy and rested, but that makes no sense.
So yeah, I m happy with the decision (and I really want Jackson).

[bwgood77]

I dont think Sarver meant that we would be tanking til 2020 coz if I recall correctly, he used the word contender in his speech. We can try to win anytime between next year and 2020. But yes I do think the Suns will look for what they can get for Bled this offseason, although im not so sure what kind of returns we should expect for the center position if ever.

On a side note, it feels so weird to have salty Sixers fans calling us out for tanking. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

That was pretty ironic.

[NTB]

http://arizonasports.com/story/1057639/suns-shut-down-eric-bledsoe-management-decision-skal-labissiere/

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[GetYourPHX]

Bledsoe's a competitor, obviously he'll be a little disgruntled by the decision to hold him out of games. That doesn't mean it's not the right call.

I'm glad that we're finally embracing where we're at as a team. We suck. It's time to figure out who is willing to rise to the occasion and work to get us out of this perpetual mediocrity and ditch the players who won't. We have a roster full of players who can't even legally drink yet. We need to find out if they're ballers or not.

Holding out Bledsoe is also going to help Booker learn to be "the man" for this franchise. Every basketball fan knows the the Suns are going exactly as far as Devin will take us in the next decade. Why not build on his experience while he's still 20. We'd be foolish not to.

[NTB]

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"We're not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet, but we're getting close to that point and we have enough young players that we wanted to get them enough opportunity to play and also save some wear and tear on Eric as best we can,'' McDonough told azcentral sports. "We do a lot of the sports science measurements and looking at those readings, Eric has some of the higher load numbers in the league. ... We just didn't want him to get worn down during a season where we're not going to end up in the playoffs."

"He was a little disappointed,'' McDonough said. "He wants to play. He's a competitive guy. He's having a terrific year and he expressed a desire to be out there with his teammates, which we understand, and that's the reaction he should have. That's what makes him a really good player. At the same time, we have to look beyond the next 14 games and do what's best for the franchise not only in the short-term, but also the long-term."

"He did have a little knee soreness,'' McDonough said, "but I don't think that's anything significant or anything to be concerned about long-term."

"That's always the push-pull in the NBA for all of us – balancing the short-term needs versus what's best for the team long-term,'' McDonough said.

"He said before the game that his back was tightening up and he was feeling some pain,'' McDonough said. "He wasn't able to move as well as he would've hoped, so if he says he feels that way, we have to take his word for it."

One thing McDonough doesn't want overlooked: Bledsoe's season.

"Eric had an outstanding year,'' he said. "He was one of only a handful of guys in the entire league to average the numbers he did in terms of points, rebounds and assists. His decision-making has gotten so much better in terms of running pick-and-rolls and making reads in traffic. It seems like every year he gets better and he took another big step this year. We don't want any of that to get lost along the way."

[bwgood77]

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[GMATCallahan]

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Bledsoe does not look happy with this decision, it is not common to shut down a healthy player with 15 games to go.

Tooo many games left. Probably the league has something to say about it. One thing is to rest a guy for a game here and there, other thing is shut him down 15 consecutive games...is too much.

On the other hand, I love the opportunity to watch Ulis as a starter. I like him more than Bledsoe as a PG so I am happy watching Ulis 35 mpg.

The NBA is going to need to revisit the lottery and potentially revert to the original lottery system that gave teams that just missed the playoffs a better chance scoring a high pick.

[ATTL]

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Bledsoe does not look happy with this decision, it is not common to shut down a healthy player with 15 games to go.

Tooo many games left. Probably the league has something to say about it. One thing is to rest a guy for a game here and there, other thing is shut him down 15 consecutive games...is too much.

On the other hand, I love the opportunity to watch Ulis as a starter. I like him more than Bledsoe as a PG so I am happy watching Ulis 35 mpg.

The NBA is going to need to revisit the lottery and potentially revert to the original lottery system that gave teams that just missed the playoffs a better chance scoring a high pick.

I agree. I might even extend it to include the bottom 2 playoff seeds in each conference. Give teams on the cusp a chance to add that key piece.
I also wouldn't guarantee the worst team a top 4 pick, make it 1-6 are up for any of the teams in the lotto, worst case scenario for the worst team is the seventh pick.
Tanking would end.

[GMATCallahan]

Bledsoe's a competitor, obviously he'll be a little disgruntled by the decision to hold him out of games. That doesn't mean it's not the right call.

I'm glad that we're finally embracing where we're at as a team. We suck. It's time to figure out who is willing to rise to the occasion and work to get us out of this perpetual mediocrity and ditch the players who won't. We have a roster full of players who can't even legally drink yet. We need to find out if they're ballers or not.

Holding out Bledsoe is also going to help Booker learn to be "the man" for this franchise. Every basketball fan knows the the Suns are going exactly as far as Devin will take us in the next decade. Why not build on his experience while he's still 20. We'd be foolish not to.

If the Suns are going as far as Booker takes them, they will not go very far. He is not going to carry this team to much success, but he should be a vital part of an ensemble that improves the Suns significantly. Thus the idea of just loading up on Booker as a worthwhile formula makes little sense in my opinion. As I have noted before, his volume of FGA per game is already quite high and higher than what many other All-Star shooting guards, or All-Star-caliber shooting guards, from the past ever averaged in a season. For instance, Reggie Miller never averaged as many field goal attempts in a season as Booker this year, while Joe Dumars and Allan Houston just once each averaged as many field goal attempts as Booker this season (and their clubs landed in the lottery during those seasons). Very high shooting volumes from shooting guards generally do not translate to much team success, anyway, especially if not accompanied by an All-Star big man. The biggest exception was Michael Jordan, and Clyde Drexler constituted something of an exception as well, but Booker is nowhere near the explosive finisher at the basket that Jordan and Drexler happened to be. As I have written, for Phoenix to substantially improve, Booker's volume of field goal attempts might actually need to decline a little in the future, or at least not increase by much.

I am not sure that the Suns are making the right call by shutting Bledsoe down with this much of the schedule remaining. They have their reasons for the decision, and those reasons are reasonable, but you also might be sending the wrong message to other players around the league who you might want to attract to your franchise one day. When you shut your best player down for the season with 15 games to play, at a time when he is healthy and in his prime at twenty-seven (even with his history of knee surgeries), and he is obviously miffed by a decision that evidently did not occur with his consultation, you may be inadvertently suggesting that you are not a player-friendly organization or a "major league operation" that treats veterans with respect. So the Suns shut down Chandler, Knight, and now Bledsoe while basically giving away Tucker. Other NBA veterans around the league may be wondering if the Suns are conducting themselves like a real NBA team or more like a minor league baseball club that loses its best players as a season unfolds.

From now to the end of the season, Phoenix could have held Bledsoe out of one game in any back-to-back set (one remains), and then maybe shut him down for the final two games. But to shut him down this early is really questionable. Moreover, the Suns have been talking about building momentum and continuity heading into next season. Although the "momentum" talk was spurious (the Suns are not close enough to the playoffs for that factor to make much of a difference next year), continuity is important. If Phoenix plans to keep Bledsoe heading into next season, he should be playing with Chriss, Warren, Len, and Booker to keep developing continuity and chemistry. For all the overblown talk about how much Bledsoe has improved as a point guard and a decision maker (a subject that I will discuss further in another post), the truth is that he still needs a lot of work and a lot of repetitions if he is ever going to be a point guard that you can win with as the team's central playmaker.

Could Phoenix be planning on trading Bledsoe this summer? To me, only that possibility would justify this maneuver.