After LeBron went back home to Cleveland, the Miami Heat have been very busy on the free agency market. They have singed Josh Mcroberts, Danny Granger, and Luol Deng this summer as well as retaining Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, and Dwyane Wade. That's a pretty solid team which could easily make the top four or five in the playoffs standings especially in the less competitive Eastern Conference.
Pat Riley and the Heat, however, are apparently not done with their off-season moves as reports have revealed that the team is eying restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe. The Heat are planning to make a move on the young, explosive point guard and their great interest on Bledsoe was confirmed by a photo showing the Suns point guard dining with Miami Head Coach Erik Spoelstra.
The Phoenix Suns, though, still have an edge on the bid for Bledsoe, who averaged career high numbers last season with the team. The dynamic point guard could easily sign an offer sheet with the Heat or any other team for that matter, if he wants too but the Suns have the right to match any offer since he is a restricted free agent. Phoenix has also made it known in the past that they have every intention of retaining Bledsoe this offseason.
But the Heat's pursuit for the rising guard may prove to be a wise and highly rewarding move. A Luol Deng and Bosh combo is a decent pairing but if you add Eric Bledsoe a.k.a "Mini-LeBron" in the mix along with a seasoned Dwyane Wade, then you have a Miami Heat team that can be potent on both ends of the floor.
Plus, there is a chance that the Suns might be moving on with Bledsoe this summer. The team currently has Goran Dragic, Archie Goodwin, rookies Bogdan Bogdanović and Tyler Ennis, and recently acquired Isaiah Thomas in the point guard position and Gerald Green and P.J. Tucker in the shooting guard position. Keeping Bledsoe with an already crowded back court doesn't make sense unless they are planning to make him a weapon on the bench which is not actually a bad move considering how the Spurs have made Ginobli as their sixth man but could also waste the potential of someone like Bledsoe.
While Phoenix has continued to maintain a stance that they are willing to match any offer for Bledsoe, the Suns, though, may think twice if its an offer that is at a max price especially after they acquired Isaiah Thomas for a four year $27 million contract. This could be an opportunity for Miami to offer Bledsoe a max offer sheet and hope that Phoenix wont match just like what the Mavericks did in acquiring Chandler Parsons from the Rockets.
If the Suns don't match, then the Miami Heat will have a young, talented guard that they can build on. This will also allow them to contend in the Eastern Conference which is teeming with elite point guards in Kyrie Irving, Derrick Rose, John Wall, and Rajon Rondo. Having a quick and athletic defensive minded guard like Bledsoe would help the team rise above the East.
And lets not forget that Eric Bledsoe is a pretty good offensive player too although he has shown more impressive outings defensively. The Suns guard is only 24 years old and has a very high ceiling that he has yet to reach. He averaged 19.4 points, 6 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals per 36 minutes last season with his first year with the Suns. He is also the fourth player to log excellent numbers on points, rebounds, assits, and steals while playing under 30 minutes joining an elite club in the NBA that includes Russel Westbrook and Clyde Drexler. That's about as talented as anyone gets in the NBA.
If the Heat manage to acquire Bledsoe then they would surely have an excellent offseason even with LeBron's departure. Eric Bledsoe is not LeBron James but if you pair him with Bosh, Wade, and Deng, then you have a pretty good team. Besides, Bledsoe can be the future of the Heat with a declining Wade and Chris Bosh nearing the end of his prime.
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