Should the Suns match a max contract offer for Eric Bledsoe?

[Revived]

The million dollar question....should the Suns match a max contract offer for Bledsoe if he is offered one?

He's got his good and he's good his bad. He's one of the rising stars in this league. He averaged 18, 5 and 5 in his first season as starter. He's also a very good defender...a quality that many stars in the desert haven't had throughout franchise history. Most clutch player on this team and also a better rebounder than most of the big men on this team (which is quite sad and quite pleasant at the same time). Only 24 years old so nowhere to go but up.

He's got his bad also...he seems to get tunnel vision sometimes and ball hogs the heck of out of the ball. Doesn't really show any emotion and hasn't yet said that he actually wants to stay here longterm (even though this could be his agent making him do it but there have been other RFAs who have said they want to stay and playing for their team so idk).

Hardly ever talks and not very social so I don't think he's ever really going to be a vocal leader. EXTREMELY turnover prone. How long can a duo PG lineup work especially when its on a team that ranks worst in the league in assists. Most importantly, his KNEES....can they hold up? We do have the best training staff so I got faith in Aaron Nelson.

A lot of the game skills that I listed as weaknesses can obviously be improved going forward...this was only his first season as a starter.

Frankly I'm so glad I'm not the one making this decision. I don't know what I would do. Kinda don't want to overpay him and kinda don't want to lose him either.

Regardless of what any of us think, McD may or may not match a max contract...question is...what do you think the Suns should do in that scenario?

[Saberestar]

Yes. He is a borderline All Star player and he is young enough to improve even more, so I think we can not lose this talent.

[NaturalBuns]

If hes not getting a max.
He's getting traded on draft day I can't see us letting him walk for nothing.

So I would assume if he's still a sun after draft that the FO is 100% committed to the max

[thamadkant]

You can't trade him on draft day... Wasn't that clarified earlier?

[Miklo]

My opinion is that it would be tough to match a max on Bledsoe, as terribly as it would hurt to lose him. With a healthy Bledsoe (and healthy everyone else) we're a good team, but not a title contender. If we're going to pull out max money, we better be sure that it's going to leave us wiggle room to bring on more talent over the next few years and build to where we *can* make a deep playoff run.

I guess this really comes down to the question of, how many NBA players are actually deserving of a max contract, versus how many max contracts get signed because of team needs or fear of losing a player? When I hear the word max, I'm going down the list mentally of your top few guys in the league, and I just don't know that my list goes as far down as Bledsoe once some of the injury risk and leadership qualities mentioned by others get factored in. If we hit him with a long term max and our team just doesn't become a serious contender, I just fear that we will be in a stuck situation.

[jcsunsfan]

Yes. He is a two-way player who plays at a high level on both ends of the court. Those are very rare and the Suns cannot afford to lose that. The only reason they should not match is if they believe his knee issues will be chronic.

I like Dragic but he is not the defender that Bledsoe is.

[bigfoot]

He is an elite defender and has the chance to be an elite offensive player. No brainer.

[sunstrooper]

As of today i don't think Erik's play is worth 20 mln. a year for 5 years and it is too much of a gamble to throw that amount of money because there is a possibility that he will eventually play 20mln-worth. Also right now Dragic is the better player and paying Bledsoe more than double the Dragic's salary seems unfair. Don't get me wrong, if he agrees to play for 10mln tops i'm all in about keeping him.
Btw it always seemed strange for me to see so many people saying Dragic is a bad defender. Perhaps with too many responsibilities on offense he played less on the defensive end, but as far as capability goes i think he is at least above average.

[RunDogGun]

My opinion is that it would be tough to match a max on Bledsoe, as terribly as it would hurt to lose him. With a healthy Bledsoe (and healthy everyone else) we're a good team, but not a title contender. If we're going to pull out max money, we better be sure that it's going to leave us wiggle room to bring on more talent over the next few years and build to where we *can* make a deep playoff run.

I guess this really comes down to the question of, how many NBA players are actually deserving of a max contract, versus how many max contracts get signed because of team needs or fear of losing a player? When I hear the word max, I'm going down the list mentally of your top few guys in the league, and I just don't know that my list goes as far down as Bledsoe once some of the injury risk and leadership qualities mentioned by others get factored in. If we hit him with a long term max and our team just doesn't become a serious contender, I just fear that we will be in a stuck situation.

That's the biggest thing to me. Either he goes for the big money knowing it will hinder chances of being an elite team (unless somehow all our rookies play at all star levels or a few of our vets), or take less money giving the team more chances to sign good equally expensive players.

To me, if I knew the team would spend wisely (we have not in the past), then I would take less money.

[DRK]

Yes. We have a boatload of capspace, and situations like this is exactly why the Suns have worked so hard to get to this stage of cap flexibility.

We have alot more to lose if we dont match, than if we do.

[RunDogGun]

Yes. We have a boatload of capspace, and situations like this is exactly why the Suns have worked so hard to get to this stage of cap flexibility.

We have alot more to lose if we dont match, than if we do.

I don't think we have as much money sitting around like many think. We still have Goran to resign possibly next offseason, and since he played better than Bledsoe running the team, he should get as much or more.

Again, if Bledsie would rather put money ahead of team, I just see another Gordon situation. Great player, but with nagging injuries. I just think it would be dumb to give max to Bledsoe, after he missed 30 games, and another player was better for half the money.

Oh well, I'm sure McD will do a good job with this.

[Sunsdeuce]

Eric was great "when" he played. I don't think he has earned a max contract. If anything Goran proved he is a max player and not Bledsoe. This whole DragonBleed is great when they are on the court. But Eric has not proven that he can lead a team, Goran has. Its a slippery slope paying Bledsoe when he has proven very little. Goran, has proven much much more. I have no problem paying for tried and true which would be Goran.

Another thing that worries me is Eric's knee. The suns avoided the whole Amare knee problem (yes, Eric knee "problem" is different but it is still a problem) and I would hope we avoid the same type of problem.

There is nothing about paying him that says "no-brainer." If he had some honor in himself, he would accept less than max. But thats not how these NBA players act. He will want max. If I were a GM, I dont know if I would be keen on signing off on a max deal for a player who put up 17 ppg per game while only playing about 40 games.

Under normal circumstances, Eric is realisticly worth about 9-10 million a year. But under the current circumstance, where the suns will have to match another team's offer, the suns may be forced to match. It's a though position to be in. Is Eric worth max? Hell no. Are the suns going to be forced to offer Bledsoe max? Strong possibility.

[bwgood77]

As of today i don't think Erik's play is worth 20 mln. a year for 5 years and it is too much of a gamble to throw that amount of money because there is a possibility that he will eventually play 20mln-worth. Also right now Dragic is the better player and paying Bledsoe more than double the Dragic's salary seems unfair. Don't get me wrong, if he agrees to play for 10mln tops i'm all in about keeping him.
Btw it always seemed strange for me to see so many people saying Dragic is a bad defender. Perhaps with too many responsibilities on offense he played less on the defensive end, but as far as capability goes i think he is at least above average.

He can only make an avg of $14.5 million from another team so that is the max we could match.

This question is a tough one to answer, because who knows if or what S&T possibilities there would be in such a scenario.

I'd rather match than lose him for nothing, but he's not worth that money, so if another team thinks he is, and will give up valuable assets to get him in a S&T, I'd consider it.

If we commit that kind of money to him, someone is going to offer Dragic a huge offer next year that we will have to beat.

[jcsunsfan]

People are way undervaluing Bledsoes defense. D at the pg position is so important. As great as Goran played I keep bled over him.

[WeekapaugGroove]

For sure you match. If they weren't comfortable matching any offer then he should have been traded at the deadline. Suns are in no position to let assets leave. It's that simple imo.

As far as sign and trades are concerned I just don't see any of the teams with cap space being willing to give up much in return. They will most likely play it like we did with gordon a couple years ago where they throw a big offer at him and call the Suns bluff. Maybe they can get a decent offer from a team without cap space that would need to do a S&T to fit bledsoe in but I highly doubt what would be coming back for him would be equal value to bledsoe.

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[JDLAW]

As of today i don't think Erik's play is worth 20 mln. a year for 5 years and it is too much of a gamble to throw that amount of money because there is a possibility that he will eventually play 20mln-worth. Also right now Dragic is the better player and paying Bledsoe more than double the Dragic's salary seems unfair. Don't get me wrong, if he agrees to play for 10mln tops i'm all in about keeping him.
Btw it always seemed strange for me to see so many people saying Dragic is a bad defender. Perhaps with too many responsibilities on offense he played less on the defensive end, but as far as capability goes i think he is at least above average.

He can only make an avg of $14.5 million from another team so that is the max we could match.

This question is a tough one to answer, because who knows if or what S&T possibilities there would be in such a scenario.

I'd rather match than lose him for nothing, but he's not worth that money, so if another team thinks he is, and will give up valuable assets to get him in a S&T, I'd consider it.

If we commit that kind of money to him, someone is going to offer Dragic a huge offer next year that we will have to beat.

At this point there is no sign and trades that will be available for him. Most teams have point guards and the few that do not are likely to draft them (Orlando - Exum, Lakers - Smart) or are likely to pursue Lowrey who is a unrestricted free agent and the team(s) desiring his services can play market value for him.

Do not foresee a max offer for Bledsoe. But if one comes his way, you match it and do not look back. Suns are not so flush with talent that they can let a player of his ability walk for nothing, even if you think it is an overpay.

[RunDogGun]

For sure you match. If they weren't comfortable matching any offer then he should have been traded at the deadline. Suns are in no position to let assets leave. It's that simple imo

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We would not have received much for an injured player at the deadline.

As for any undervaluing, I don't think anyone is undervaluing Bledsoe's defense. There were many times after he came back from injury, where he was not as good defensively. Westbrook went to the basket at will while Bledsoe was guarding him, and often without using a pick or screen.

I still think the injury comes into play here. It was second injury to the same knee, and while our med staff is used to seeing knee injuries now, we also passed on Amare because of his knees.

Moreover, I still feel it is stupid for players to want the max, when they aren't even all stars. We aren't the Knicks or LAL, so we don't have deep pockets. It seems like stars get disgruntled when the team can't put stars around them, yet have no problem taking up a large portion of the cap space.

Now if there was no cap, I could see players going for all the money they can get. But since there is a cap, money plays a huge role in the team building. Asking for the max (or even expecting it) on a team without deep pockets, is just setting things up for failure and issues down the line.

I'm hoping McD is in Bledsoe's ear about building a team and what it will take to do so within the CBA.

[bwgood77]

Personally I don't think he will receive a max offer. If our FO doesn't think he is worth the max, what would make other FO's think he deserves the max after being injured half the year?

And the Lakers have made it pretty clear they want to have as much cap space as possible in 2015 (one reason they are not stretching Nash). I don't think they'd give up a chance to get LeBron, Bosh or Love in 2015 by signing Bledsoe to a max.

Philly already has MCW, and draft picks, so I don't think they do it.

I thought Orlando might if they got a top 3 pick and didn't get a guard, but they can likely get Exum at 4 to play with Oladipo. Or if Philly takes Exum (or anyone else in top 3) they can still probably get Ennis with their other pick.

Dallas doesn't need another guard. They have Ellis and Calderon and I'm sure may want to spend that money in the frontcourt.

Hopefully no one gives him an offer and we can get him for around $11 or maybe $12 million. It may not seem much different than a max, but it will likely impact what Dragic gets offered, so saving $3 million on Bledsoe probably would enable us to save roughly the same amount on Dragic. Paying them $24 million instead of $30 million a year makes a pretty big difference in what we can do with the rest of our roster.

[bwgood77]

At this point there is no sign and trades that will be available for him. Most teams have point guards and the few that do not are likely to draft them (Orlando - Exum, Lakers - Smart) or are likely to pursue Lowrey who is a unrestricted free agent and the team(s) desiring his services can play market value for him.

Do not foresee a max offer for Bledsoe. But if one comes his way, you match it and do not look back. Suns are not so flush with talent that they can let a player of his ability walk for nothing, even if you think it is an overpay.

I agree and was posting pretty much the same thing at the same time.

[Revived]

Eric was great "when" he played. I don't think he has earned a max contract. If anything Goran proved he is a max player and not Bledsoe. This whole DragonBleed is great when they are on the court. But Eric has not proven that he can lead a team, Goran has. Its a slippery slope paying Bledsoe when he has proven very little. Goran, has proven much much more. I have no problem paying for tried and true which would be Goran.

Another thing that worries me is Eric's knee. The suns avoided the whole Amare knee problem (yes, Eric knee "problem" is different but it is still a problem) and I would hope we avoid the same type of problem.

There is nothing about paying him that says "no-brainer." If he had some honor in himself, he would accept less than max. But thats not how these NBA players act. He will want max. If I were a GM, I dont know if I would be keen on signing off on a max deal for a player who put up 17 ppg per game while only playing about 40 games.

Under normal circumstances, Eric is realisticly worth about 9-10 million a year. But under the current circumstance, where the suns will have to match another team's offer, the suns may be forced to match. It's a though position to be in. Is Eric worth max? Hell no. Are the suns going to be forced to offer Bledsoe max? Strong possibility.

You bring up an interesting point...if we give Bledsoe the max, what the hell are we gonna give Dragic next summer?

I'm pretty sure him and his agent will come and say "Well y'all have EB a max and looking at our stats, I blow his away pretty effectively. Only thing he's got on me is defense and age but you know I got at least left of very good basketball left in me".