Report: Bledsoe rejects Suns' 4-year, $48-million offer; looking for max contract
Tap here to access our NBA Tracker, which includes offseason rumors, trades and signings.
Restricted free agency has already produced some interesting maneuvering around the league, including the massive offer sheet the Dallas Mavericks pitched to Chandler Parsons to pry the young swingman away from their division rivals in Houston, and the staggering max contract the Charlotte Hornets offered guard Gordon Hayward, which the Utah Jazz opted to match.
Two big-name restricted free agents remain unsigned, in Pistons forward Greg Monroe and Suns point guard Eric Bledsoe. The Suns brought Bledsoe aboard last offseason and subsequently shocked the NBA by winning 48 games, narrowly missing the playoffs after most prognosticators pegged them as the worst team in the Western Conference.
They succeeded largely by running a pass-happy, furiously-paced offense, powered by the twin-point guard battery of Bledsoe and Goran Dragic. The Suns undoubtedly would like to have the 24-year-old Bledsoe - who averaged career highs in points (17.7), rebounds (4.7), assists (5.5), steals (1.6), true shooting percentage (57.8) and PER (19.6) last year - back in the fold.
But the two sides don't seem to agree on Bledsoe's worth. The Suns have reportedly been rebuffed after offering him a 4-year, $48 million contract, which is the same deal Kyle Lowry signed to stay with the Toronto Raptors earlier this month. Bledsoe, instead, is asking for a max contract, one that would pay him some $80 million over five years.
With most of the starry free-agent names already off the board, Bledsoe does have some leverage here, and he appears to be banking on a desperate team, possibly one that's whiffed in free agency thus far (think Houston), swooping in with a monster offer. That scenario isn't at all implausible; earlier this month the Milwaukee Bucks were said to be pitching Bledsoe on a max contract.
Suns GM Ryan McDonough has said publicly that he will match any offer for Bledsoe, but after taking pains to beef up the point guard position this offseason, it's unclear how seriously that declaration should be taken.