Eric Bledsoe is proving his worth with Clippers

Post #1 » by **mkwest** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 6:02 am

As the Feb. 21 trade deadline looms, the third-year point guard out of Kentucky is expected to attract serious attention from rival teams that are already convinced he could be their starting point guard. But being teammates with Paul and venerable veteran Chauncey Billups means there will be more time spent in the shadows than the spotlight – until now.

"I'm pretty excited that I'll be getting to play a lot…showing people what I can do and how hard I worked on my game over the summer," Bledsoe said in a phone interview with USA TODAY Sports.

"The only thing I want to do is get him a whole lot better and have him make me 10 times better," Bledsoe said of Paul. "We were talking one day, and I was like, 'You know, I've learned a lot from you Chris.' And he was like, 'Man, I'm learning a lot from you.' It felt good to have one of the best point guards tell me that."

"He's been unbelievable," Sacks said of Bledsoe. "Even in the role he's been playing coming off the bench as a backup point guard, he's been unbelievable. And then the last two games, running the show, he's been great. He can really run an offense, run the team and still plays the way he plays – attack, get to the rim, block shots and do all the other things that he still does. He's really grown as a player."

"(The playoffs) just helped me a lot coming into the season with a focused, confident mindset just to do what I can while I'm on the floor.," Bledsoe said.

Sam Amick, USA Today

mttwlsn16 · Post #2 » by **mttwlsn16** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 5:15 pm

Will be a sad day when he is gone. I'm thankful for him now and what he provides and hope we get equal or greater value in return after this season

madmaxmedia · Post #3 » by **madmaxmedia** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 6:43 pm

Everything said above, plus he is just a ton of fun to watch...

Post #4 » by **og15** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 6:47 pm

mttwlsn16 wrote:Will be a sad day when he is gone. I'm thankful for him now and what he provides and hope we get equal or greater value in return after this season

Doesn't have to happen. There are ways that make sense to keep Bledsoe on the team with Paul

mttwlsn16 · Post #5 » by **mttwlsn16** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 6:53 pm

og15 wrote:
mttwlsn16 wrote:Will be a sad day when he is gone. I'm thankful for him now and what he provides and hope we get equal or greater value in return after this season

Doesn't have to happen. There are ways that make sense to keep Bledsoe on the team with Paul

Start him at the 2. I'd love that but don't see it happening

azncorruptedo17 · Post #6 » by **azncorruptedo17** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 6:58 pm

he's going to def demand more than DJ, so i can see about a 42-48mil/4year contract

Post #7 » by **og15** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 7:02 pm

mttwlsn16 wrote:
og15 wrote:Doesn't have to happen. There are ways that make sense to keep Bledsoe on the team with Paul

Start him at the 2. I'd love that but don't see it happening

If you love something, set it free, right? I think he should definitely be kept through this season and then in the off-season, look to move him for a solid wing that can shoot and defend. Those aren't really easy to find, which is the issue.

The off-season plan can be something like this.
1) Re-sign Paul for whatever he requires
2) Re-sign Odom for $4-5M a year or less if possible
3) Re-sign Matt Barnes
4) a. Package Bledsoe with Caron and trade for Gordon Hayward + a draft pick swap ---> in FA, look to sign Gerald Hendseron (RFA) or Tony Allen (UFA) if possible. Less optimistic scenario is a cheap Ronnie Brewer signing or even Corey Brewer.
b. (Less realistic and more roster turnover) package Bledsoe + DJ for Gortat + swap draft pick(s), obviously wanting Phoenix's own pick, they are getting two lottery talents, so it isn't crazy, but they already have Dragic at PG---> save about $4 million at the center spot to use for Odom, and Gortat can defend, rebound and score and is good on the pick and roll player
5) Re-sign Billups is applicable, if not, Crawford can technically play backup PG, and Beno Udrih will be a FA

Team (A):
Paul / Billups
(Hendo, T.Allen, R.Brewer or C.Brewer) / Crawford
Hayward / Barnes
Griffin / Odom
DJ / Odom

Team (B)
Paul / Billups
(Hendo, T.Allen, R.Brewer, C.Brewer or draft pick) / Crawford
Butler / Barnes
Griffin / Odom
Gortat / Odom

Angel strike1 · Post #8 » by **Angel strike1** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 8:40 pm

haywoods contract is up some time as bleds.

hope we try him out at SG next season

Quake Griffin · Post #9 » by **Quake Griffin** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:21 pm

anybody interested in 21 shump street for bled?

of course w/e throw ins you would like to add

hayward
afflalo
shump
parsons

not a fan of granger.
these are all ppl id like to see him traded for if we move him.

azncorruptedo17 · Post #10 » by **azncorruptedo17** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 10:16 pm

depends how shump is after his injury. as of right now, nope.

scoobs07 · Post #11 » by **scoobs07** » Fri Jan 18, 2013 4:24 pm

Hopefully, Seattle will end up with a pick in the top 3. If Shabozz Muhamed or Ben McLemore are still on the board, i would offer Bledsoe and our pick for that pick. I think Seattle would be interested for the following reasons:

1. They could use a upgrade at PG and Bledsoe is better then anybody they have and is better then anybody PG coming out in the draft.

2. Bled's ball hawking ability could be compared to one of Seattle's all time greats, Gary Payton.

3. The new ownership group will have money to spend, so matching a offer sheet for Bled would not be a issue.

4. Most of the time, new ownership wants to start fresh.

Why would Clippers do this?
1. Muhamed and McLemore are both very good in catch and shoot situations and that is what we need. Both of those guys are talented enough to justify being the starting SG next season.

2. They would be on a rookie deal, which is approximately 4years/24million. That is about half of what Bled would be getting as a free agent.

azncorruptedo17 · Post #12 » by **azncorruptedo17** » Fri Jan 18, 2013 4:29 pm

scoobs07 wrote:Hopefully, Seattle will end up with a pick in the top 3. If Shabozz Muhamed or Ben McLemore are still on the board, i would offer Bledsoe and our pick for that pick. I think Seattle would be interested for the following reasons:

1. They could use a upgrade at PG and Bledsoe is better then anybody they have and is better then anybody PG coming out in the draft.

2. Bled's ball hawking ability could be compared to one of Seattle's all time greats, Gary Payton.

3. The new ownership group will have money to spend, so matching a offer sheet for Bled would not be a issue.

4. Most of the time, new ownership wants to start fresh.

Why would Clippers do this?
1. Muhamed and McLemore are both very good in catch and shoot situations and that is what we need. Both of those guys are talented enough to justify being the starting SG next season.

2. They would be on a rookie deal, which is approximately 4years/24million. That is about half of what Bled would be getting as a free agent.

if i wanted to start fresh, i'd keep shabazz.

he's a franchise player. everyone knows that

scoobs07 · Post #13 » by **scoobs07** » Fri Jan 18, 2013 4:37 pm

Yeah dude, I think you are rite. They probably would just draft Muhamed and then try trade pieces like Tyreke Evans and Jimmer Fredette.

azncorruptedo17 · Post #14 » by **azncorruptedo17** » Fri Jan 18, 2013 4:42 pm

scoobs07 wrote:Yeah dude, I think you are rite. They probably would just draft Muhamed and then try trade pieces like Tyreke Evans and Jimmer Fredette.

i'd trade evans and cousins out in a 3 team deal or somethin.

Post #15 » by **og15** » Sat Jan 19, 2013 2:44 am

Quake Griffin wrote:anybody interested in 21 shump street for bled?

of course w/e throw ins you would like to add

hayward
afflalo
shump
parsons

not a fan of granger.
these are all ppl id like to see him traded for if we move him.

I'd like to see Shumpert on offense with this current Knicks team and see if he can be more controlled and be an efficient offensive player and play within his limits. Either that or have improved enough where he can be taking some of the shots he took last season. Based on last season he was a bad offensive player but has the talent to be better (I think).

scoobs07 · Post #16 » by **scoobs07** » Sat Jan 19, 2013 10:03 pm

Shumpert would be a great replacement for Bledsoe. He forces turnovers and his rookie year has one more year than Bledsoe. Maybe a three way trade?

Utah gets: Bledsoe and Butler

Clippers get: Shumpert and Knicks 1st (20-25 range)

Knicks get: Utah 1st (assuming they land in the 8-13 range)

Probably still not enough for Bledsoe though.

Post #17 » by **thanumba2clippersfan** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 5:31 pm

I don't understand why you would want to trade Bledsoe right now. I'd like to keep him if we can, if the team feels like he can't be kept trade him in the off season, or do a sign-and-trade when he's a RFA.

madmaxmedia · Post #18 » by **madmaxmedia** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:26 pm

No way no how do we mess with the team now, trade Bledsoe during the season and it would potentially be a big blow to a team who has near the best record in the NBA.

Right around the draft would be when I first start thinking about it.

azncorruptedo17 · Post #19 » by **azncorruptedo17** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 4:26 pm

i'm thinking about a trade next year

not this year.

i still think ross + 1st rounder for eb next year...

comingbacktousa · Post #20 » by **comingbacktousa** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:07 pm

what do you guys think his current trade value is? the main trade that has been discussed is kg which is hard to really place a value on. It also isn't going to happen most likely. In terms of draft picks what do you think it would be? 2 lottery picks? I'm thinking a decent expiring(like Millsap or someone like Kevin Martin/mayo/redick basically someone that could be resigned and plays the 2 or 3) and a lottery pick would do it for bledsoe plus taking back butler's contract? What do you guys think?