While Eric Bledsoe is still contemplating on whether or not he will join fellow restricted free agent Greg Monroe in signing a qualifying offer with the hopes of cashing in on a multi-year deal next summer as an unrestricted free agent, the Phoenix Suns are also exploring the market for potential trade partners. For the Suns, the risk of having Bledsoe walk away for nothing next summer is as real as it gets and right now they are weighing their options on whether they should trade him or not.
There's still plenty of time for the Suns to seek out potential sign-and-trades, of course, and you'd better believe general manager Ryan McDonough is hard at work doing just that. Even if the lack of market intrigue means Phoenix won't fetch nearly the return haul it might have earlier in the summer, Bledsoe is still young, talented and upside-laden enough to warrant an attractive trade package-especially if said packages aren't wholly predicated on picks and expiring contracts. Per Jim Cavan of Bleacher Report.
If a team does want to enter the Eric Bledsoe trade scenario then they should be prepared to offer him a max contract - at least $64 million for 4 years. And who else would be willing to give him that kind of money any day of the week but the top market teams like the Los Angeles Lakers who has always been a top free agent destination in the NBA.
But the big question is what can the Lakers offer that would force the Suns to pull the trigger on Eric Bledsoe? According to Joey Parsons, "one of either Steve Nash or Jeremy Lin must be a part of the trade for the salaries to match" since the Suns have $19.9 million available while the Lakers are caped out.
But of course the Suns would not simply trade Bledsoe for Jeremy Lin or Steve Nash; they would certainly want more. Jason Gold of Los Angeles Sports hub thinks that the Lakers may be able to entice the Suns on a trade for Bledsoe if it includes a Jeremy Lin package with Jordan Hill or Julius Randle and the 2015 first round pick that they acquired from the Rockets.
The Lakers have always been interested with Bledsoe at the start of the free agency. They were prepared to give him a contract but hesitated with the thinking that the Suns would match any offer sheet anyway. But now that the Bledsoe and the Sun's relationship have began to sour with the latter threatening to sign a qualifying offer, a trade might just be imminent. And if that happens, look for the Lakers to become involved.
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