Draft pick value for each Suns player Part 1

Eric Bledsoe – Mid lottery pick

I recognize that there are reasons to be bearish on Bledsoe going forward. He’s missed lots of time with injured knees, he’s never been the full time solo point guard on a competitive team, and the Suns have struggled to generate assists during his tenure running the show. That being said, I think the trade market would be very engaged in a fully developed two-way point guard in the early part of his prime. Granted, there appears to be an abundance of point guard’s in the league right now but Bledsoe as an asset may appear more scarce once you apply some filters: 1) He can help on both sides of the ball 2) He won’t require multiple years of development playing time to achieve effectiveness 3) He has an attractive contract 4) He’s not untouchable.

Additionally I believe Bledsoe may not have fully reached his peak yet because he’s still only had the equivalent of three total seasons as a full-time starting point guard. Other guards who were late bloomers at point (Chauncey Billups and Kyle Lowry) had peeks later than Bledsoe’s current age while others stayed effective into their mid-to-late thirties (Billups and Steve Nash). Don’t forget that Bledsoe is a top-40 player now while a mid-lottery pick is just an opportunity to select a player that has only reasonable potential to become a top-40 player if a franchise is willing to invest multiple years of below average performance to develop him. I believe NBA front offices value current productivity more than the average fan does.