Bucks Will Explore Trading Eric Bledsoe

[RealGM Wiretap]

The Milwaukee Bucks are expected to consider a trade of Eric Bledsoe this offseason.

Bledsoe signed a four-year, $70 million extension in March of 2019 instead of testing free agency.

Bledsoe was an All-Defensive team player, but the Bucks could upgrade from him in terms of playmaking.

Via Shams Charania/The Athletic

[lonea]

he's not a starter material... he had all the years to lead in Phoenix, but he couldn't get it done.

[coolhandluke121]

he's not a starter material... he had all the years to lead in Phoenix, but he couldn't get it done.

In his first year with them, he and Dragic led the Suns to 48 wins when they were expected to win ~20 and their 3rd-best player was either Gerald Green or Channing Frye. They came back to earth the next season but still won 39 in the very tough west with an even worse supporting cast. He had an RPM between 3 and 4 his first two years there, which is borderline top 20 in a typical season. And let's not forget how awful management was after that 48-win season (trading for and maxing out Brandon Knight, trading for Isaiah Thomas so they'd have 3 pg's, etc). Very few players would have done much for the Phoenix team after Sarver started systematically destroying them from within.

He had two lost seasons because of meniscus injuries after that, but still managed to average 20 ppg and 6 apg when he did play those two seasons, which only a handful of other players in the NBA did during that time (I think the list was basically Harden, Westbrook, Lillard, Curry, and probably 1 or 2 others that I'm forgetting).

He's still a pretty effective player. You're vastly underrating the value of his defense if you're saying he's not a starter. His worst basketball is still all-but-guaranteed to be a top-50 player just by virtue of how hard it is to find anyone who can truly contain some of the great off-the-dribble scorers currently dominating the NBA. Many fans don't pay attention to all aspects of a player's defense and they underrate Bledsoe because of his warts on offense. In a good year, his RPM is going to be 3-4, and it was nearly 4 last year (11th in the entire NBA). It's not a fluke either, as he was close to +4 several times before that.

He's just a terrible fit with Giannis because neither one of them can shoot and both are at their best in a 4-out offense. They also don't have guys who play off the ball very well, which hurts both Bledsoe and Giannis a lot. I've often hoped they'd start George Hill and give Bledsoe 28 mpg off the bench so he wouldn't be playing with Giannis as much, but it's clearly time to move on. Hill was terrible in the bubble and isn't getting any younger, so he's not going to be a regular starter going forward.

[lonea]

He's still a pretty effective player. You're vastly underrating the value of his defense if you're saying he's not a starter. His worst basketball is still all-but-guaranteed to be a top-50 player just by virtue of how hard it is to find anyone who can truly contain some of the great off-the-dribble scorers currently dominating the NBA.

If I wanted a defensive pg, I'd get pat bev over bledsoe any day. Bledsoe doesn't have that fire to be a defensive stopper.

Hell, I'd even take lou will over bledsoe if I wanted a ball hogged pg.

There are so many PGs that I'd take over Bledsoe. Even Dragic is better than Bledsoe at this point of his career.

He was touted as mini-lebron, but never materialized. Bledsoe is just a mediocre player.

[coolhandluke121]

He's still a pretty effective player. You're vastly underrating the value of his defense if you're saying he's not a starter. His worst basketball is still all-but-guaranteed to be a top-50 player just by virtue of how hard it is to find anyone who can truly contain some of the great off-the-dribble scorers currently dominating the NBA.

If I wanted a defensive pg, I'd get pat bev over bledsoe any day. Bledsoe doesn't have that fire to be a defensive stopper.

Hell, I'd even take lou will over bledsoe if I wanted a ball hogged pg.

There are so many PGs that I'd take over Bledsoe. Even Dragic is better than Bledsoe at this point of his career.

He was touted as mini-lebron, but never materialized. Bledsoe is just a mediocre player.

Bledsoe is a more effective defender than Beverly because he has much better physical tools and gives similar effort. Don't confuse Beverly's excessive emotion and histrionics with superior effectiveness.

Bledsoe is not at all a ball hog! What in the hell are you watching? He has deferred to Giannis, Khris, Brogdon, and Lopez all the time since coming to Milwaukee. This just proves that you have no clue what you're talking about.

[Cassius]

He's just a terrible fit with Giannis because neither one of them can shoot and both are at their best in a 4-out offense. They also don't have guys who play off the ball very well, which hurts both Bledsoe and Giannis a lot. I've often hoped they'd start George Hill and give Bledsoe 28 mpg off the bench so he wouldn't be playing with Giannis as much, but it's clearly time to move on. Hill was terrible in the bubble and isn't getting any younger, so he's not going to be a regular starter going forward.

If only they had another guard who could shoot and handle a little, to space the floor and give Bled the opportunity to catch the ball on the move sometimes. It would be great if he were bigger and could help on the glass and defend, too... so Bled can focus on hounding smaller PGs instead of taking on bigger wings. Alright, and I'm being greedy here, but if that player were in his mid-20s so he fits the team timeline, that would be great, too.

What? You have someone? Who would we have to sacrifice to fit him in our cap?

George Hill
Wes Matthews
Robin Lopez

Wait, and we get a free 1st and two 2nds for our trouble?

Sign me up.

[lonea]

Bledsoe is not at all a ball hog! What in the hell are you watching? He has deferred to Giannis, Khris, Brogdon, and Lopez all the time since coming to Milwaukee. This just proves that you have no clue what you're talking about.

LOL, he has to defer to other players because he can't create his own shots.

He's not effective as catch and shoot guy cause he can't shoot.

He's a ball dominate pg that can't shoot. If the bucks just want a PG who brings up the court and pass it around, George hill can do that. He's supposed to be part of the big 3 for the bucks... cmon man... you know he sucks.

I've seen it all while he's in phx.

LOL

[coolhandluke121]

Bledsoe is not at all a ball hog! What in the hell are you watching? He has deferred to Giannis, Khris, Brogdon, and Lopez all the time since coming to Milwaukee. This just proves that you have no clue what you're talking about.

LOL, he has to defer to other players because he can't create his own shots.

He's not effective as catch and shoot guy cause he can't shoot.

He's a ball dominate pg that can't shoot. If the bucks just want a PG who brings up the court and pass it around, George hill can do that. He's supposed to be part of the big 3 for the bucks... cmon man... you know he sucks.

I've seen it all while he's in phx.

LOL

Typical casual fan caring only about the aesthetics of a player's skill-set on offense.

[Pennebaker]

Eric Bledsoe and LeBron are close. I wonder if the Lakers could be a destination for him.

I always thought they'd end up on the same team at some point.

[The_Hater]

he's not a starter material... he had all the years to lead in Phoenix, but he couldn't get it done.

Considering he was a starter and all defensive team player with the best regular season team in the league the past 2 seasons, I’m quite certain he’s starter material for at least half the teams in the league.

That doesn’t mean the Bucks don’t want to upgrade on him or find a player who fits differently with Giannis but that has nothing to do with that you wrote.

[lonea]

he's not a starter material... he had all the years to lead in Phoenix, but he couldn't get it done.

Considering he was a starter and all defensive team player with the best regular season team in the league the past 2 seasons, I’m quite certain he’s starter material for at least half the teams in the league.

That doesn’t mean the Bucks don’t want to upgrade on him or find a player who fits differently with Giannis but that has nothing to do with that you wrote.

That's like saying MCW is a started material.

It's simple, he can't handle the pressure from a starting position. Otherwise, the whole "Drew Bledsoe" thing wouldn't have happened.

[lonea]

Bledsoe is not at all a ball hog! What in the hell are you watching? He has deferred to Giannis, Khris, Brogdon, and Lopez all the time since coming to Milwaukee. This just proves that you have no clue what you're talking about.

LOL, he has to defer to other players because he can't create his own shots.

He's not effective as catch and shoot guy cause he can't shoot.

He's a ball dominate pg that can't shoot. If the bucks just want a PG who brings up the court and pass it around, George hill can do that. He's supposed to be part of the big 3 for the bucks... cmon man... you know he sucks.

I've seen it all while he's in phx.

LOL

Typical casual fan caring only about the aesthetics of a player's skill-set on offense.

Typical homer fan caring only about "defense is everything". Just admit it, Eric Bledsoe sucks

[Young_Fashioned]

Eric Bledsoe and LeBron are close. I wonder if the Lakers could be a destination for him.

I always thought they'd end up on the same team at some point.

Lakers aren't going to squander their upcoming cap space for Eric Bledsoe lol

[coolhandluke121]

LOL, he has to defer to other players because he can't create his own shots.

He's not effective as catch and shoot guy cause he can't shoot.

He's a ball dominate pg that can't shoot. If the bucks just want a PG who brings up the court and pass it around, George hill can do that. He's supposed to be part of the big 3 for the bucks... cmon man... you know he sucks.

I've seen it all while he's in phx.

LOL

Typical casual fan caring only about the aesthetics of a player's skill-set on offense.

Typical homer fan caring only about "defense is everything". Just admit it, Eric Bledsoe sucks

Homer fan? I've been trying to explain why the Bucks should trade him for years because he's not a good fit, but saying he's not even a starter is literally the dumbest thing I've ever read on these boards. I wouldn't even expect to see that kind of garbage on facebook.

[Temuhjan]

Bledsoe needs to be paired to a ball dominant guard who can space the floor and open up driving lanes in order to be most effective

There are so many teams who can use him. E.g. The Hawks, the Nets, the Mavs, the Nuggets, the Rockets, the Pacers, the Clippers, the Blazers, the Jazz and the Wizards. The Bucks have no shortage of options in terms of trade partners

A package of Spencer Dinwiddie and Jarrett Allen plus a late first round pick should do the trick

[TdotRap4Lyfe]

They will probably include him in some sort of package to get back Chris Paul.

[saltybs]

Bledsoe needs to be paired to a ball dominant guard who can space the floor and open up driving lanes in order to be most effective

There are so many teams who can use him. E.g. The Hawks, the Nets, the Mavs, the Nuggets, the Rockets, the Pacers, the Clippers, the Blazers, the Jazz and the Wizards. The Bucks have no shortage of options in terms of trade partners

A package of Spencer Dinwiddie and Jarrett Allen plus a late first round pick should do the trick

ha dude no way the Nets do that trade. Bledsoe is good, sure, but Dinwiddie and Allen aren't rotation-level players, they're a bit more than that. I don't think each of their individual contributions are THAT much off Bledsoe's, let alone collectively. And I'm sure Dinwiddie thinks he's better than Bledsoe straight up and you know what... he might be right...

[ontnut]

Bledsoe needs to be paired to a ball dominant guard who can space the floor and open up driving lanes in order to be most effective

There are so many teams who can use him. E.g. The Hawks, the Nets, the Mavs, the Nuggets, the Rockets, the Pacers, the Clippers, the Blazers, the Jazz and the Wizards. The Bucks have no shortage of options in terms of trade partners

A package of Spencer Dinwiddie and Jarrett Allen plus a late first round pick should do the trick

ha dude no way the Nets do that trade. Bledsoe is good, sure, but Dinwiddie and Allen aren't rotation-level players, they're a bit more than that. I don't think each of their individual contributions are THAT much off Bledsoe's, let alone collectively. And I'm sure Dinwiddie thinks he's better than Bledsoe straight up and you know what... he might be right...

lol I'd rather have Dinwiddie than Bledsoe straight up. I think most teams would. Dinwiddie is simply a better fit on most teams.
And you want to include one of the best young C prospects, PLUS A FIRST?
Yeesh.
Bledsoe's contract is probably negative value right now. You might have to give up a 2nd just to get him off the team if you're trying to upgrade and/or open up cap space.

Bledsoe and Beal would be an interesting combo, but wth would WAS do with Wall? Maybe he can go to SAC and pair up with Fox.

[Temuhjan]

Bledsoe needs to be paired to a ball dominant guard who can space the floor and open up driving lanes in order to be most effective

There are so many teams who can use him. E.g. The Hawks, the Nets, the Mavs, the Nuggets, the Rockets, the Pacers, the Clippers, the Blazers, the Jazz and the Wizards. The Bucks have no shortage of options in terms of trade partners

A package of Spencer Dinwiddie and Jarrett Allen plus a late first round pick should do the trick

ha dude no way the Nets do that trade. Bledsoe is good, sure, but Dinwiddie and Allen aren't rotation-level players, they're a bit more than that. I don't think each of their individual contributions are THAT much off Bledsoe's, let alone collectively. And I'm sure Dinwiddie thinks he's better than Bledsoe straight up and you know what... he might be right...

What matters is what Kyrie and KD thinks, not what Dinwiddie thinks.

Dinwiddie is a sieve on defense and relies on Kyrie to mop up his mistakes. Kyrie is sick and tired of it.

Allen is a promising young player, but we have seen from the success of the Rockets that traditional centers are no longer needed for playoff success.

[Not2BeBothered]

Bledsoe needs to be paired to a ball dominant guard who can space the floor and open up driving lanes in order to be most effective

There are so many teams who can use him. E.g. The Hawks, the Nets, the Mavs, the Nuggets, the Rockets, the Pacers, the Clippers, the Blazers, the Jazz and the Wizards. The Bucks have no shortage of options in terms of trade partners

A package of Spencer Dinwiddie and Jarrett Allen plus a late first round pick should do the trick

ha dude no way the Nets do that trade. Bledsoe is good, sure, but Dinwiddie and Allen aren't rotation-level players, they're a bit more than that. I don't think each of their individual contributions are THAT much off Bledsoe's, let alone collectively. And I'm sure Dinwiddie thinks he's better than Bledsoe straight up and you know what... he might be right...

What matters is what Kyrie and KD thinks, not what Dinwiddie thinks.

Dinwiddie is a sieve on defense and relies on Kyrie to mop up his mistakes. Kyrie is sick and tired of it.

Allen is a promising young player, but we have seen from the success of the Rockets that traditional centers are no longer needed for playoff success.

If the rockets had a traditional center they could prob guard AD better. Your trade proposal is terrible for the nets BTW