NBA Trade Rumors: Phoenix Suns Officially Place Eric Bledsoe On Trade Block
The latest NBA trade rumors have long had the Phoenix Suns making some serious noise, but until recently, Eric Bledsoe wasn’t among that talk. The Phoenix Suns have seen their latest NBA trade rumors revolve around Eric Bledsoe and the team officially putting him on the trade block. That doesn’t mean Bledsoe is officially on his way out of Arizona, but the team is looking to take Providence guard Kris Dunn if he’s still available in tonight’s draft.
It might surprise some to see Phoenix dealing a point guard who is so productive when he’s able to stay healthy. The Suns are willing to deal Bledsoe precisely because he isn’t able to stay healthy. The guard managed to play in just 31 games, which is why the NBA trade rumors surrounding the team are heating up so much despite the fact Bledsoe managed to average more than 20 points a game when he played.
Eric Bledsoe’s season this past year ended in December, when he had to go through surgery. According to the Bleacher Report, the guard tore his meniscus in his left knee. Despite the knee injury, the NBA trade rumors are plenty hot because the player claims his recovery is going very well. The Phoenix Suns being in a position where they might be looking to deal their stud point guard has been hampered by all the talk that he’s on the block.
Teams like to deal from a position of strength, and it’s in doubt whether or not the franchise is finding itself in a position of strength when it comes to dealing a player who has been hurt as often and as recently as Bledsoe. If there is another strike against the borderline all-star finding himself a new squad, it would be a rather large contract he just signed in 2014. That contract cost more than $43 million over several years.
The contract isn’t so big that no teams would be interested, but it is enough that the Suns might need to be creative to make the deal go through. As CBS Sports points out, the market for Bledsoe is unknown. Some general managers around the league have said if the Suns sell at all, they’re going to be selling quite low. Of course, the team is going to be able to fill that spot with whatever player they can grab with their fourth pick in the first round of the draft.
The Phoenix Suns are apparently drooling over what Kris Dunn could bring to the team if they were able to draft him. There has been some talk that Dunn might be the best two-way player available this year. One has to wonder whether it still would be a better idea to hold onto Bledsoe until after the draft. Teams who might not have come away from the draft day with the kind of players they want would be more likely to do a deal once the smoke clears.
The Suns have been plenty active in talks with some teams, as it seems they want to revamp their roster. Earlier in the week, there had been talk they were going hard after Jahlil Okafor. Of course, in order to get a player of that caliber from the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix would likely need to deal its fourth pick in the draft. If that was the case, the team might decide it needed to hang onto Eric Bledsoe after all. Of course, this time of year, there are all kinds of NBA trade rumors popping up, with the Phoenix Suns being in the forefront today.
[Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]
