Valley of the Suns
Fansided

The Phoenix Suns may have already lost any future Eric Bledsoe trade

By Lucas Johnson

PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 20: Eric Bledsoe #2 of the Phoenix Suns looks on during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 20, 2017 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 20: Eric Bledsoe #2 of the Phoenix Suns looks on during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 20, 2017 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Now that Phoenix Suns general manager’s new strategy for trading Eric Bledsoe is revealed, the franchise appears to be the loser of any future deal.

Fans should all know of the tragic fall out between point guard Eric Bledsoe and the Phoenix Suns franchise. Bledsoe’s tweet, as subtle as it was, still was enough to make the franchise put him on the trading block and not being active on the team. According to Scott Bordow of azcentral, Suns’ general manager Ryan McDonough has no timetable to trade Bledsoe. This is the final nail in the coffin that will almost assure the Suns won’t receive equal or greater value for the point guard.

Every step of this process has hurt the trade value of Bledsoe, starting with his tweet. If a player shows he is unhappy with one franchise and doesn’t show the maturity of how to deal with it, then other teams will fear the same response. It also shows that he lost his desire to play for a poorly playing team.

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Then being sent away from the team and no longer being a part of team activities will only hurt. There is no guarantee he is still in basketball shape. In a recent article, I point out that Bledsoe started out the year poorly averaging the lowest points per game total of his Suns career with only 15.7 points average. If Phoenix wanted to drive up his trade value then they need to get his point average up in order to do so. Now there are good reasons why he is away from the team, such as the team doesn’t need a big distraction on the court or in the locker room. Then, the team probably doesn’t want to risk an injury which would make it hard to trade him. Still, having him off the court hurts more than having him on it in regards to his trade value.

It’s been proven recently in the NBA that the longer you hold onto a player that you want to trade, the worse the return is for the player. For example, DeMarcus Cousins was traded by the Sacramento Kings to the New Orleans Pelicans. For Cousins being one of the best centers in the game, the Kings got a pretty low return on him. Kings general manager Vlade Divac said he had a better deal for the center just days earlier and traded him at that time because he feared offers would have gotten worse as time passed. That’s just one example on how a better deal can go away just in a manner of days. With no urgency of trading, Bledsoe will only diminish his value.

Bordow reported speculation that the Suns could be waiting to deal Bledsoe after restriction on trading players that signed this summer will be lifted. Which makes sense, it will be easier to execute a possible trade, but it may not be worth the wait if his value goes down based on the other factors listed above.

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Overall the Phoenix Suns organization has handled the Bledsoe situation poorly. It will be very hard for the team to garner assets that are close to what Bledsoe is worth. Honestly, the franchise is doing the fans and the team a disservice by having this drag out too long.

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