The Wolves could be making one last push for Eric Bledsoe. (USATSI)
Restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe and his agent Rich Paul have been firm on one thing this summer. They will either get a max offer sheet for Bledsoe or he'll sign the one-year qualifying offer that will pay him just under $4 million and give him unrestricted free agency next summer. Bledsoe's camp didn't seem very aggressive in getting a max offer sheet from a competing team, leaving the Phoenix Suns waiting to either match whatever offer sheet comes their way, have Bledsoe agree to the four-year, $48 million offer from them, or sign the qualifying offer.
On September 19, Bledsoe may finally be getting his wish. Fox 10 in Phoenix initially reported a max offer to Bledsoe coming from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com also has a report about this offer from the Wolves for four years and $63 million. From ESPN:
With just days before the start of training camp, the Minnesota Timberwolves are making a final push to acquire restricted free-agent guard Eric Bledsoe in a sign-and-trade with the Phoenix Suns, sources told ESPN.com.
The Wolves are offering Bledsoe the four-year, $63 million maximum-level contract that he has been seeking, sources said. Bledsoe and the Suns have been in a stalemate all summer after the team offered him a four-year, $48 million deal in July.
There are a few complications here. First and foremost, the Wolves don't have the necessary cap space to give Bledsoe this offer. Assuming the contract is structured similarly to Gordon Hayward's deal he signed with Charlotte only to have Utah match it, the starting salary would be $14.7 million for 2014-15. The Wolves are way over the cap and used part of their mid-level exception on Mo Williams this summer. They can offer Bledsoe the max all they want but unless Phoenix wants to execute a sign-and-trade, it's the same as me offering Bledsoe a max offer.
Secondly, a sign-and-trade between these two teams is also complicated. The Wolves would have to offer up about $10-11 million in returning salary. The Suns aren't just going to give Bledsoe away to give him away. You're probably talking a draft pick in return and/or Ricky Rubio as the starting point. That's not impossible by any means but the Suns have Goran Dragic and don't exactly need a backcourt of Dragic and Rubio together. They wouldn't play off each other the same way Bledsoe and Dragic did.
The Suns aren't going to accept Nikola Pekovic's $47.9 million owed over the next four seasons. They're probably not thrilled about taking Corey Brewer at $9.6 million over the next two years, Kevin Martin's $21.2 million over the next three years, or Chase Budinger's $10 million over the next two years (considering his knee injury). You could maybe package Rubio, J.J. Barea's expiring deal, and another player plus a pick, but it still doesn't make a lot of sense with the Rubio-Dragic pairing unless they believe Dragic may leave in free agency too in 2015 if he opts out.
The Wolves aren't going to give up Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine is probably not going to be dealt either. Would a package of Rubio, Barea, and Thaddeus Young be enticing for the Suns considering they have a 3-point heavy attack and none of those guys are shooters? Would Anthony Bennett be valuable to them? It's a bold move by Rich Paul or Flip Saunders here to try to force the hand of Phoenix, but a lot has to be cleared up before we get there.
Basketball Hot News
Andrew Bogut is feeling healthy, takes charges on D at Warriors scrimmage
Andrew Bogut appeared in 67 games for the Warriors last season, but managed to be healthy enough for just 32 and 12 respectively in the two seasons prior.
Defensively, Bogut is the key on the interior for Golden State, but health with him has been a major concern.
If a recent report out of a team scrimmage is to be believed, however, Bogut is feeling better than ever, and is more than ready for training camp to open in a couple of weeks.
He also isn’t interested in changing his game to avoid injury, and used some colorful language to hammer his point home.
From Rusty Simmons of SFGate.com:
In a meaningless open gym scrimmage this week at the Warriors’ downtown Oakland practice facility, center Andrew Bogut risked his body and took a charge from Marreese Speights.
As Speights was cursing Bogut for breaking pick-up game protocol by taking a charge, Bogut was going through a checklist of his own.
Ribs: check. Back: check. Elbow: check. Ankle: check.
“My body feels great,” said Bogut, who returned to working out in mid-June after his fractured rib healed. “All of my injuries have been of the high-impact variety. The only thing I can do to change that is to be a puss and avoid contact at all costs. Then, it’s the other side of the ball when people say I’m a puss. I’ll take the good with the bad. I’ll still take charges and go for blocked shots. Every now and then, I’ll get a knock.”
Bogut’s characterization aside, his fearlessness on the defensive end of the floor is part of what makes him so valuable. While health is a legitimate concern moving forward, changing his game to try to avoid injury isn’t the answer; it almost never works out as planned.
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