Eric Bledsoe’ five-year, $70 million contract agreement with the Suns can be viewed in a myriad of ways. Most can agree that it’s a win for Bledsoe and very few would heap criticisms on Phoenix if we assume the team is confident the guard’s health will hold up.
Here’s what some smart people are saying about the deal.
SB Nation’s Tom Ziller: Maybe some of us were quick to say the Suns’ initial offer of four years and $48 million was set by the market (some more boldly than others). Ultimately, the Suns blinked because they were looking at losing Bledsoe for nothing or overpaying him a little. For a team that can’t stand to take major steps backword next season, it chose the latter.
"This isn’t a loss for the Suns, who now have a fringe All-Star on the rise locked up for five years. (The lack of player options in the deal means Phoenix doesn’t have to worry about losing Bledsoe until 2019. That’s a real concession by Bledsoe.) But this result is a loss for the idea that the market rules all in the NBA. The truth is the market is so convoluted by artificial limits on supply and demand and transactional restrictions that it’s barely a functioning economic system at all.…With such limited supply and such convoluted demand, and with such odd transactional restrictions (like the concept of restricted free agency itself), the NBA is the opposite of a free market."
FOX Sports Arizona’s Randy Hill: Randy Hill has a lot of valuable points to back Phoenix’s decision, and maybe the best is the context of teams having to face the same issue as the Suns: signing their second-best backcourt members.
"Once Klay Thompson and Bradley Beal reach negotiation time for a second NBA contract, how much do you think their current teams will have to ante up to keep them working in the same backcourts with Steph Curry (a bargain at $10 million and change) and John Wall, respectively? Please note Curry and Wall are making less than will the two Suns playmakers simply because the chronology of their deals.If Dragic stays on board next summer, Phoenix still will be forking over much less than the Brooklyn Nets are for the honor of trotting out Deron Williams and Joe Johnson."
Sports Illustrated’s Rob Mahoney: Risk because of injury aside, the Suns could profit from this move. Phoenix not tying any opt-outs into the deal gives them the upper hand should Bledsoe continue to blossom into an All-Star.
"Yet the Suns’ movement to a higher contract figure points to value beyond a few million in cap room. With this deal Phoenix gains some measure of security, all the more important as Goran Dragic‘s free agency looms. The Suns, too, preserve a certain flexibility. The size of Bledsoe’s deal might make it tricky to move, but by retaining him Phoenix can more fully explore deals involving its other guards. On a similar note, Bledsoe’s commitment doubles as a means of asset retention. By locking a terrific young player into a five-year deal without the threat of an early exit, Phoenix has either an anchored star worth building around or a trade chip boasting that same appeal."
ESPN Insider’s Kevin Pelton ($$): Pelton touches on the financial upside of this deal — he doesn’t call it a loss for the Suns — but also points out the statistical impact he’ll have on the team.
"As unproven as Bledsoe is as a starting point guard, his per-minute statistics have long suggested great promise, especially at the defensive end. Last season, Bledsoe was rated the NBA’s seventh-best point guard per minute by ESPN’s real plus-minus (RPM). His defensive RPM, 4.0 points per 100 possessions better than an average player, was far ahead of the second-best point guard (Ricky Rubio, +2.5).Bledsoe’s offensive efficiency lagged far behind early in his NBA career, but he’s improved dramatically in the past two seasons. In Phoenix’s pick-and-roll offense, he pushed his true shooting percentage from .513 to .578, while simultaneously increasing his usage rate from 22.5 percent of the Clippers’ plays to 24.9 percent of the Suns’ this past season. As a result, a combination of RPM and my wins above replacement player statistic suggests Bledsoe can be expected to produce 26 wins over the next three seasons, fifth among 2014 free agents. That makes him well worth the money — if he stays healthy."