Broussard: Suns & Bledsoe $32M apart in negotiatons

We'd have close to 14.5 million in cap space and Bledsoe's max is about 14.75, So in the chance that we trade for him, I highly doubt he would leave. We'd be a championship contending team, we can offer him his max basically, he'd be the third star, he'd have complete rains of our PG spot, he would have spent a whole year with the organization to get comfortable . There's really no better situation for him anywhere else was my point.

Whether he's worth the max or not, is not up to me, it's up to Morey. No way in hell Bledsoe takes the QO and ends up not getting the max deal he's asking for. So if Morey where to look at him as a third star caliber player, trade for him, I doubt he'd give him anything less then 4 years 60 million. Baring that he has another year on par with last season, and if stays healthy - two huge ifs.

It's pretty damn risky but Morey is running out of options, and he knows it. Dragic stays with Suns, Milsap stays with Hawks, Love goes to cavs, Aldridge stays with Blazers, we let Bledsoe goes else where.... who the hell does that leave for us? Rondo or bust?? He let Parsons, Lin, Asik, our 2015 1st go for this flexibility, he better do something with it, and quick.

 

Kevin Love?

 

Cavaliers.

I'd also easily see Milsap re-signing with the Hawks, he's really shined on that team this year, no reason for him and the Hawks to separate.

I know Hawks want a center to put next to Horford, that doesn't mean they have to part with Milsap though. In fact, all they need to do is sign a center like Asik or Lopez. A 3 man Asik/Horford/Milsap front court would WRECK.

So really the only free agents I see being available is Rondo and Bledsoe, and I highly suspect the Lakers, Knick's to be knocking hard on their doors at midnight next offseason.

Love to Cavs
Dragic to Suns
Milsap to Hawks
Aldridge to Blazers

Rockets/Knick's/Lakers/Hawks/Blazers/Grizzles/Mavericks/Celtics/Raptors are all attractive teams with plenty of cap space in 2015 free agency, and we will have to battle them for Rondo or Bledsoe.

After this free agency, I'm pretty scared that we'd get ****ed again. I'm hoping we can just trade for Rondo or Bledsoe now, that would make us favorites to re-sign them.

 

You really think Millsap will be cool with being a bench player on a non contender? I'm not even sure you could sell him on being a bench player for Cleveland. When the rotations get tightened in the playoffs, he'd be the first to suffer.

You also probably need to stop taking "lack of complaints to the press" as "i will stay with my team", Morey isn't leveraging "will want to come to Houston", he's leveraging "player will be worth more to me than to them" to the point where people were shocked Miami went full r****d on their offer to Bosh, it was never about Bosh preferring Houston, it was about $20-30m (which works both ways), would Phoenix? doubt it, that guy comes from "Asset St, Massachusetts" like Morey, which runs parallel to "I don't care that you're a crowd favorite Boulevard", would Atlanta? 14m or so for a bench big? when you're probably going to spend 30m+ on the starters? right.....

 

Truth. Too many hunters in the woods and not enough big game.

 

And he left the following year giving the Bulls nothing in return.

The Suns have a month or so to solve the Bledsoe problem. I don’t see them letting him walk for nothing so I think they have to up their offer some (not max) or SnT. If we did want to be involved, we’d have to get a 3rd team to make it work (trading smaller contracts within the range for larger ones which in turn go to the Suns) because we couldn’t come up with enough salary without dumping contracts that they don’t want on them.

 

I assume he meant playing Millsap @ SF. He's got the quickness to defend the position and is too small to guard bigger PFs.

 

Playing Millsap at SF is perhaps even worse than playing Josh Smith there, they've tried, it just doesn't work (he doesn't have the quickness no, look at the people who play small forward, they're all lithe marathon runners these days, he's way too big for that). Also, playing a free agent out of position is a really bad selling point

That teams wing structure is Korver for offense and Carroll for defense, and with there being no UFA wings (only RFA worth a damn is Klay) on the market next season, any sort of upgrades would have come to come from C or PG.

 

Jeff Teague $ 8,000,000
Rajon Rondo $12,909,091
Deron Williams $19,754,465
Kemba Walker $3,272,091 (rookie deal)
Derrick Rose $18,862,876
Kyrie Irving $7,070,730 (rookie deal, already extended at max, drafted 1 year after Bledsoe)
Ty Lawson $11,595,506
Brandon Jennings $8,000,000
Steph Curry $10,629,213
George Hill $8,000,000
Chris Paul $20,068,563
Jeremy Lin $8,374,646
Mike Conley $9,294,216
Brandon Knight $3,553,917 (rookie deal)
Ricky Rubio $4,660,479 (rookie deal)
Jrue Holiday $10,404,495
Jose Calderon $7,097,191
Russell Westbrook $15,719,063
Elfrid Payton $2,397,840 (rookie deal)
MCW $2,300,040 (rookie deal)
Goran Dragic $7,500,000
Damian Lillard $3,340,920 (rookie deal)
Darren Collison $4,797,664
Tony Parker $12,500,000
Kyle Lowry $12,000,000
Trey Burke $2,548,560 (rookie deal)
John Wall $14,746,000


Teams with max cap space next summer that could be in the market for a premier point guard:
Hawks
Lakers
Mavs
Hornets
Pistons
Bucks
Knicks
Kings
Rockets (could create close to max cap space for Bledsoe)

Possible premier PG market next summer:
Rondo
Rubio (restricted)
Dragic
Bledsoe
Kemba (restricted) (we're stretching possible here)


Phoenix's 4/48 offer to Bledsoe is a little below what Bledsoe would make if he played for his qualifying offer and then found another team to offer him a max deal next summer starting at around $15.4 million. If Bledsoe decides to sign his QO and walk on PHX next summer and he finds a team willing to give him the max then he'll likely make around $52 million over the same 4 seasons.

However, I really don't think PHX wants to deal with that issue and having to face being forced to trade him during the season to the team of his choosing at a diminished trade value or having to offer him even bigger money next summer (more than a competing team's max offer) to have a chance at him not walking away...while at the same time Goran is on the market locking down a max deal (or close to it). So, for these reasons I believe Phoenix would probably be willing to actually go 4/52 to 4/55 or so to keep Bledsoe or even 4/63 (the max offer he can receive) to keep him.

So...while the 4/48 offer is "fair"....... all that "fair" goes away if Bledsoe forces the issue by signing the qualifying offer. All he has to do is stay healthy and produce for one full season...or actually..just part of the season up to the trade deadline...and then Phoenix is on the spot. Because at that point going into free agency next summer he can sign a Parsons contract, except it's not an offer sheet that Phoenix gets the opportunity to match. He can simply sign a 2-year deal with a player option for year 3 with the trade kicker at max dollars...and that would be a total of $52 million over 4 seasons, which is more than PHX has on the table. And if he stays healthy, he could then be at his 7-year mark when his player option came around, timing straight up with a new CBA more favorable to the players and he's money ahead.

So....really....the only reason that Bledsoe has to sign the 4/48 offer is if he doesn't think his health is going to hold up through next year's trade deadline. That's what it comes down to. Because as long as he's healthy and playing well then he's going to get a max offer next summer from one of those teams with max cap space in need of a premier point guard.

 

Bledsoe
Dragic
Thomas
Ennis

Something has to give there at the PG spot. They are not keeping all of them. The drafting of Ennis and then the followup of Thomas in FA speaks volumes.

 

Melo and LeBron disagree. Obviously when teams go small they have to play the 4, but even the Lakers have Randle penciled in as a 3/4.

 

If you're Bledsoe do you take the qualifying offer and chase a max contract next year? Or do you take Phoenix's lower offer? I would be nervous about staying healthy, knowing that another significant injury next year would cost me millions.

 

I don't think starting and being a bench player is as big as you make it to be, in my opinion, it's really more about playing time. There is 96 minutes to go around at the PF and C position. Which means 32 minutes a night for each player in a 3 man rotation, Milsap played 33.5 minutes last season, I'm sure he won't flip the table over for being asked to play 90 less seconds a game.

As for him being a starter or bench player, like I said, I don't think the label matters much when the player will be getting starting minutes anyways in a 3 man rotation, how can you get upset for not starting over somebody when you get just as many minutes as they do?. Although, Milsap doesn't have to be a bench player, the center they choose to sign next off season, can come off the bench, or even Al Horford can. Which ever player who chooses to not act ridiculously immature about just coming into the game a little big later, can come off the bench. Milsap seems like a class guy, so does Horford, i'm sure if it's for the sake of winning, neither would have much of any problem coming off the bench, as long as they're getting starting minutes.

 

Well, Ennis still didn't sign his rookie contract...

 

What you are ignoring is the big question as to why Phoenix would even entertain this idea? I think Phoenix trading us any of their guards is pretty much 0%, they're trying to build a contender, not gather more future assets. And they're certainly not going to help another team in the West get better than them in the meantime. They're one of the youngest rosters in the league, with tons of assets on very reasonable contracts.

 

They want a three headed horse in the backcourt of playmakers, Hornacek is on record saying this is how they want to construct their team. Ennis is probably headed for the D-League this upcoming year anyway.

96 minutes split between 3 players in the backcourt breaks down to 32 for each player. Completely reasonable.

 

Phoenix would entertain the idea if they received a guy like Terence Jones in return which would be better than having Dragic or Bledsoe walk for nothing. As things currently stand, both will be gone next year as other desirable teams can offer them their max without the need of a sign and trade. Unlike Bosh, these two will likely be smart enough to know that a two year agreement at the max with an opt out to pursue an even bigger long-term deal under a larger salary cap is a good move to make.

 

Its very presumptuous to assume Dragic is going to walk, maybe Phoenix has an amazing year, multiple players break out, they snag the 3rd seed in the West, and Dragic resigns to build a real contender. Had Eric Bledsoe been healthy all last year, I don't think its out of the realm of possibility they would have been the 5th seed in the West. Phoenix has about as much upside as any organization the next few years.

 

I will bet any sum of money that Phoenix will not be a top 6 seed, let alone 3rd. Spurs thunder clips rockets blazers mavs warriors are all unquestionably better.