Eric Bledsoe and the Phoenix Suns remain in stalemate on contract negotiations. The Phoenix Suns offer, $48 million for four years, is still on the table and Bledsoe still believes that its well below his true value. Both sides have mantained their stance for weeks now and Bledsoe's relationship with the Suns has reportedly soured per CSNNW.com. And now it seems that Bledsoe is considering taking a qualifying offer from the Suns to become a unrestricted free agent next summer where he could land a lucrative contract from teams interrested in signing him according to Gerald Borguet of Hoops Habit:
With each passing day, it seems more and more possible that Bledsoe could simply opt for the Suns qualifying offer woth $3.7 million. The move would allow him to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2014-2015 season and Phoenix could only trade him if he agreed to a deal, which would severely limit the Sun's capability of doing anything to prevent their budding star from leaving for nothing next summer.
But if he does sign the qualifying offer, Bledsoe will risk leaving tens of millions of guaranteed money the moment he suffers an injury. His longevity and ability to stay healthy for a full season is arguably the number one reason why no team has offered him a max deal offer this summer. If he becomes injured again this season, no team will surely be paying him more money next summer than what the Suns are offering him now.
He can prevent any injury from happening by boycotting the whole season after he signs the qualifying offer but this will deal a significant blow on his reputation and market value for that matter. Suns fans would trully hate him for doing it and teams will become relucatant to sign him long term with the premise that if he can do it to the Suns he can do it to them too.
Jack Winter's of Dime Magazine beleives that everything is just a smart bluff from Bledsoe's camp. Phoenix risks losing Bledsoe for nothing next summer if he signs the qualifying offer because they would not be able to trade him without his consent. This plays to Bledsoe's advantage because if he manages to convince the Suns that he intends to become an unrestricted free agent next summer then this forces the team to change their offer or give way to Bledsoe's demand of $80 million for five years.
Perhaps the ending of this drama would be both sides agreeing on a multi-year contract in the coming weeks afterall.
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