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

[Fo-Real]

I have seen hilight vids for Len, Archie, Dragon, and Green... dont remember one for Bled so.....


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyr5JlydgCk[/youtube]

Got to keep him!!!

[Fo-Real]

Here is a longer one


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtaluLIK__E[/youtube]

[jcsunsfan]

I'm not...but that's cool

Two things to remember. Yes, anyone can live on $10 million a year, but the money he makes over the next 10 years or so probably, in large part, has to last him his whole life.

Of course any reasonable person should be fine with $10 million alone their entire lifetime.

But a big part with many of these guys is pride. They just want to be known as one of the guys making the max.

And of course their lifestyles are probably pretty extravagant.

Thank you for an intelligent response to my opinion lol. I just think if he makes $50-55 million on his FIRST contract, he's in pretty good shape. Second contract will get him most likely $70-$80. And then...if you can't live on that money, including your future family....you are an idiot. I hope we can get him for $11 mil per, maybe throw in some incentives for All-Star, All-Defensive, All-NBA, etc (not sure if you can do that with restricted free agents?).

You have a choice between a Ferrari and a Ford. If you can't drive a Ford you are an idiot. Why take the Ferrari. The Ford is plenty.

This not about what you can live on. It's about how well you can live, how respected you are by teams and among your peers, what you can give to your family and charities etc.

An American making $50,000 a year makes more than 90 percent of the people on the planet. I am sure most of those would say, "if you can't live on $25000 a year you are an idiot." It's all about expectations and perspective.

[willywazza]

I would say yes even though the sample size was rather small. He is certainly in serious consideration to be a franchise building block.

He does show that he has incredible ability and potential to become an elite, two-way player.

[asubennett]

Here is a longer one


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtaluLIK__E[/youtube]

Bledsoe reminds me of Amare in that every time he goes to the hoop you hear "Ohhh" while Amare was "And 1" -

Also, Bledsoe needs to learn to keep him self on his feet after taking contact around the rim, he needlessly falls to the ground too often. Reminds me of Wade in his prime - look at how Wade's body is now.

[lilfishi22]

Also, Bledsoe needs to learn to keep him self on his feet after taking contact around the rim, he needlessly falls to the ground too often. Reminds me of Wade in his prime - look at how Wade's body is now.

I always thought it was a way these guys learn to fall to soften the blow on their knees. Kind of like how you see sprinters finish off their sprint with a short jog rather than a sudden stop. Falling seems to take at least some of the impact away from the descent.

Also I think Wade's knees are bad because he had the meniscus removed while he was still in college.

[asubennett]

Also, Bledsoe needs to learn to keep him self on his feet after taking contact around the rim, he needlessly falls to the ground too often. Reminds me of Wade in his prime - look at how Wade's body is now.

I always thought it was a way these guys learn to fall to soften the blow on their knees. Kind of like how you see sprinters finish off their sprint with a short jog rather than a sudden stop. Falling seems to take at least some of the impact away from the descent.

Also I think Wade's knees are bad because he had the meniscus removed while he was still in college.

He is falling on his hip, shoulder, and often time down on his kneecap. They are all ugly falls aimed at drawing a foul in my view. Rarely was the the foul actually called on those plays. Love his game though. He is worth every penny of the max. His defense is incredible. Always getting in the passing lanes.

[RunDogGun]

He isn't worth a max deal yet. He hasn't even started 50 games in one season yet. Having the same knee issue is concerning. Moreover, if we max out Bledsoe, we will have to max out Goran next year, because he ran the team better than Bledsoe, and made an All NBA squad. Two max backcourt players will really hinder building a solid team, unless all our rookies from last season and upcoming, start to play like all stars.

Oh well, hopefully we can get him for $10-12 million range at most.

[asubennett]

He isn't worth a max deal yet. He hasn't even started 50 games in one season yet. Having the same knee issue is concerning. Moreover, if we max out Bledsoe, we will have to max out Goran next year, because he ran the team better than Bledsoe, and made an All NBA squad. Two max backcourt players will really hinder building a solid team, unless all our rookies from last season and upcoming, start to play like all stars.

Oh well, hopefully we can get him for $10-12 million range at most.

Bledsoe can dominate a game. If you put a strong perimeter defender on Dragic you take him out of the game. He does poorly with a Lenoard, Lebron, Wade, Tony Allen types defending him. Bledsoe can't be removed from a game with the longer wing type players defending him. Too quick and too strong.

I fully understand the sentimental attachment to Dragic but evaluating their games less the emotion Bledsoe is worth more than Dragic. I love Dragic but if forced to choose I choose Bled if winning is what matters to me.

[RunDogGun]

He isn't worth a max deal yet. He hasn't even started 50 games in one season yet. Having the same knee issue is concerning. Moreover, if we max out Bledsoe, we will have to max out Goran next year, because he ran the team better than Bledsoe, and made an All NBA squad. Two max backcourt players will really hinder building a solid team, unless all our rookies from last season and upcoming, start to play like all stars.

Oh well, hopefully we can get him for $10-12 million range at most.

Bledsoe can dominate a game. If you put a strong perimeter defender on Dragic you take him out of the game. He does poorly with a Lenoard, Lebron, Wade, Tony Allen types defending him. Bledsoe can't be removed from a game with the longer wing type players defending him. Too quick and too strong.

I fully understand the sentimental attachment to Dragic but evaluating their games less the emotion Bledsoe is worth more than Dragic. I love Dragic but if forced to choose I choose Bled if winning is what matters to me.

Goran did better this season, so if we are using performance as a gauge for salary, currently, Goran is worth more. Now that may change, and Bledsoe can learn to run the team as well with less one on one play, and Bledsoe could actually complete a full season as a starter, but none if that has happened.

I'm not attached to Goran, any more than I was Nash. Once Nash left, I didn't care about him anymore. Suns fan through and through. I can like players we have, hell I could even love them, but the team is more important, and Goran ran the squad and team better than Bledsoe. Eric is the better defender, but I've also seen him take plays off, or gamble and miss.

Oh well, I'm not going to fight over opinions. However, if we sign Bledsoe to a max contract (has not earned that yet with such limited time as a starter), then Goran should get the same.

[BurningHeart]

I fully understand the sentimental attachment to Dragic but evaluating their games less the emotion Bledsoe is worth more than Dragic. I love Dragic but if forced to choose I choose Bled if winning is what matters to me.

The team was expected to win 20 games and won 48 with Goran Dragic leading it. If winning is what matters to you, the proof is in the pudding.

[lilfishi22]

Bledsoe can dominate a game. If you put a strong perimeter defender on Dragic you take him out of the game. He does poorly with a Lenoard, Lebron, Wade, Tony Allen types defending him. Bledsoe can't be removed from a game with the longer wing type players defending him. Too quick and too strong.

I fully understand the sentimental attachment to Dragic but evaluating their games less the emotion Bledsoe is worth more than Dragic. I love Dragic but if forced to choose I choose Bled if winning is what matters to me.

I don't think it's an open and shut case. An argument can be made for both. Bledsoe has potential, time and defense on his side but. We haven't really seen Bledsoe carry a team yet even though he was instrumental in he certainly isn't proven. Our great start to the season came at the hands of both Goran and Bledsoe, but who kept us in playoff contention while Bledsoe was out?. Goran did a fantastic job carrying us and not only did he carry the team, he put up all-star numbers and did it ridiculous efficiency to top it off. That's evidence, not sentiment.

If you put a gun to my head and ask me to choose one guy to lead us for the next decade, I'll go Bledsoe but that's only because he's younger. But if we're building a team for contention within say, 3 seasons, I think Goran has to be the guy you go with.

[GTO]

Like it or not, Bledsoe will receive a max offer. Remember when the Suns made a max offer to Eric Gordon a couple years ago? Similar situation-- Very young player who put up great numbers will get paid even if his game isn't complete and there are injury worries, especially in a market where there will be plenty of teams with cap room.

[McStunna]

I fully understand the sentimental attachment to Dragic but evaluating their games less the emotion Bledsoe is worth more than Dragic. I love Dragic but if forced to choose I choose Bled if winning is what matters to me.

The team was expected to win 20 games and won 48 with Goran Dragic leading it. If winning is what matters to you, the proof is in the pudding.

Half of their wins came with Bledsoe and Bledsoe took and made the game winning shots.

When Bledsoe was out they were a .500 team, the proof is in the pudding.

And of course we will match Bledsoe no matter what. If we don't we won't have any real capspace next season anyway, so there is no upside to not matching.

[RunDogGun]

Like it or not, Bledsoe will receive a max offer. Remember when the Suns made a max offer to Eric Gordon a couple years ago? Similar situation-- Very young player who put up great numbers will get paid even if his game isn't complete and there are injury worries, especially in a market where there will be plenty of teams with cap room.

The exact reason I don't think anyone should offer a max deal to Bledsoe. Now if he hadn't been injured and kept up that level for close to 82 games....maybe, but I still think the Gordon lesson is out there for GMs to remember before making that offer, and for us to match.

[RunDogGun]

I fully understand the sentimental attachment to Dragic but evaluating their games less the emotion Bledsoe is worth more than Dragic. I love Dragic but if forced to choose I choose Bled if winning is what matters to me.

The team was expected to win 20 games and won 48 with Goran Dragic leading it. If winning is what matters to you, the proof is in the pudding.

Half of their wins came with Bledsoe and Bledsoe took and made the game winning shots.

When Bledsoe was out they were a .500 team, the proof is in the pudding.

And of course we will match Bledsoe no matter what. If we don't we won't have any real capspace next season anyway, so there is no upside to not matching.

Losing any team's second best player will hurt that team's chances to win games. And a Eric did not make tons of game winning shots, he had a few or a couple. Also Bledsoe had Goran next to him almost all of those games, so it would make sense that the team was better when they BOTH were on the floor.

What I really liked about having both players was how Hornacek used them. He made sure that one of them was on the floor at all times, unlike how Gentry used Nash and Hill. I don't think I ever saw both Bledsoe and Goran resting together except at maybe a blow out game, or near the end of the season, when it was clear we weren't making the playoffs.

Either way, Eric has not earned a max deal, his second injury to the same knee is a cause for concern, and if we max out Eric, then we will have to max out Goran next season for he played better last season.

I understand it is a business, but most players seem to want the chip more than the money. If a player is smart, they would take less so the team could surround them with quality players. Besides the system, that is exactly why the Spurs were able to keep their big three for so long. They took less money so the team could stick together, and be successful.

[mybloodisorange]

I agree that he isn't worth the max and unfortunately the news is that he wants it. Don't get me wrong his heart and talent are undeniable but like many before mentioned we can't tie up our cap long term with someone with real injury concerns and aggressive hit-the-deck drives. We can't afford to pay both him and Goran both the max is the bottom line without seriously hindering our rebuilding project and at this point I would pay Dragic first. Don't forget Goran is going to want a raise in the near future also.

There is also the real possibility that no other FA suitors offer him the max either which means we wouldn't have to either but teams overpay for potential all the time so I think that's a slim chance at best. In a perfect world we would sit both guards down in a meeting to see if they would be willing to shave a bit off to ensure keeping both and still having cap room for a bench while having a rock solid backcourt.

[bwgood77]

I don't know what team people think will offer Bledsoe a max offer. With the league full of really good point guards, few teams needing them, a few good ones in the draft, and not many teams that need point guards with max cap space out there, I'd like to know if people have thought it out.

A team like the Lakers is likley to keep their cap space for 2015 in hopes of getting LeBron or Melo (if they can't get them this summer) or Love next summer.

Orlando COULD, but they are young and could just draft one with one of their first two picks.

It's doubtful he gets a max offer.

[bwgood77]

I fully understand the sentimental attachment to Dragic but evaluating their games less the emotion Bledsoe is worth more than Dragic. I love Dragic but if forced to choose I choose Bled if winning is what matters to me.

The team was expected to win 20 games and won 48 with Goran Dragic leading it. If winning is what matters to you, the proof is in the pudding.

Half of their wins came with Bledsoe and Bledsoe took and made the game winning shots.

When Bledsoe was out they were a .500 team, the proof is in the pudding.

And of course we will match Bledsoe no matter what. If we don't we won't have any real capspace next season anyway, so there is no upside to not matching.

BUT they were MUCH MUCH better with Bledsoe out than when Goran wasn't playing.

Their best lineup without both Bledsoe and Dragic in the lineup was Dragic, Green, the twins and Frye with a +/- of .5. That lineup ranked 105th in the league.

Their next best lineup without the duo was Dragic, Green, Tucker, Frye and Plumlee, with a +/- of .1, so yes, about .500 ball. That lineup ranked 133rd in the league.

The best lineup with Bledsoe and no Dragic was Bledsoe, Green, Tucker, Frye and Plumlee, with a +/- of -2.2, ranking 229th.

Obviously Dragic was MUCH more important than Bledsoe, but the team was obviously also better with both of them.

But this team with no Dragic would be about a 30 win team.

Obviously they need to match Bledsoe if he signs an offer sheet elsewhere, but he isn't really worth the max or close to it.

http://stats.nba.com/leagueLineups.html ... r%20Season

[WTFsunsFTW]

Can we even give him the max if our ultimate plan is to snag a superstar of some sort in the next two years?

Hunt for a superstar > maxing out bledsoe

He cant be our highest paid and best player. He needs to be a 2nd/3rd option