Phoenix’s Eric Bledsoe is the latest NBA player to tell his management he wants out. Should the Raptors make an offer for the shortish gunner?
The Phoenix Suns were expected to be bad, but not this bad. They began the new NBA season with three defeats, two of which were OMG-grade blowouts (they lost their home opener by 48). In the course of confusing motion with action, Suns GM Neil McDonough canned coach Earl Watson. Since then, accomplished combo guard Eric Bledsoe tweeted his desire to leave the desert. McDonough has stated Bledsoe will get his wish.
And why should a Toronto Raptors site care so much about the Suns’ problem that the Editor deems the matter worthy of a post? In an out-of-the-blue situations like this, where a team is compelled to move a disgruntled star, I’m always interested in trying to figure out if the Raptors can (or should) swing a deal.
These “we gotta move this guy” trades always favour the buyer, so I already am pre-disposed to coming up with a below-true-value proposition. Paul George from the Pacers to OKC for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis? I’d fire Indy’s GM for even proposing that deal, but it happened.
We should take it as read that the Raptors could use Bledsoe. For sure, our team is in win-now mode, and this fellow could help our offense after one practice. He’s entering his eighth NBA season and has never been bothered by his lack of size. He averaged more than 20 points per game his last two seasons as a Sun.
Trade Proposal
This might be the simplest trade I’ve ever put together, which doesn’t mean I’m wild about it (neither is the Trade Machine – its PER-happy algorithm determined the Raptors would be weakened by eight games, while the Suns would neither win nor lose). Financially the players’ salaries match up so well, Masai Ujiri would actually gain over $ 900 grand. Yippee.
If there ever was a “new culture” moment for the Raptors, this deal would be the proof point par excellence. At one fell swoop, we would dump our best traditional center for an aggressive basket-attacker and respectable (33.4% for his career) 3-point shooter. I’d rate Bledsoe about a C+ as a defender. Getting a true defensive read on a bad team’s individual players is a challenging task.
Get off the fence, Brian – Deal or No Deal?
I doubt Phoenix would take this trade without a sweetener, but I’d still make the call to McDonough. He may be getting offered precious little for Bledsoe, so the thought of getting a starter-grade center might be too exciting for him to pass up.
I like JV a lot, probably more than most Raptors fans. But I would wave goodbye to him for Eric Bledsoe. The future looks like more scoring will be the key to success – less Dwane Casey’s rock pounding, more Mike D’Antoni’s 7 seconds or less. Bledsoe will find himself surrounded by more scorers than he’s ever had as teammates in his career. I’d wager he’d love to have less pressure to be The Man, and just be able to fit in.
OK, that’s my position. Rapture Nation, time for you to check in – would you make this deal? Do you have one you’d like to share? Let us know in the Comments.
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