Eric Bledsoe signed Suns' qualifying offer, just never sent it in
Phoenix Suns' guard Eric Bledsoe was prepared to play out the year on a one-year qualifying offer from the Suns.
By
Zach Harper
•
2 min read
Eric Bledsoe had one of the more dramatic offseasons in 2014, and that's saying quite a bit when you factor in LeBron James, Kevin Love, Andrew Wiggins, and Chris Bosh's ordeals. Bledsoe was a restricted free agent and he was at a dramatic standstill for much of the summer. There were comments from Suns' owner Robert Sarver in which they talked about a lack of communication between both sides and the Suns kept adding point guards by drafting Tyler Ennis and trading for a newly signed Isaiah Thomas.
The Bledsoe camp remained patient and eventually moved away from their max offer requests. Instead of signing the one-year qualifying offer, Bledsoe and the Suns eventually agreed to a five-year, $70 million deal in late September. It ended the drama of Bledsoe possibly going through a season of questions about his future with the team. But the young guard was prepared to play out the year and hit unrestricted free agency in 2015. He even signed the Suns' one-year qualifying offer; he just never sent it in. From CSNNE.com:
Bledsoe was prepared to go into this season on a one-year, qualifying offer contract which would have made him an unrestricted free agent next summer.
The 6-foot-2 guard said he did sign a qualifying offer.
"I just didn't send it in (to the Suns)," Bledsoe said.
When asked about his level of concern considering the moves Phoenix made at the point guard position prior to him signing, Bledsoe said, "I wasn't worried about it. I knew everything would take care of itself."
Had Bledsoe hit unrestricted free agency this summer, he could have possibly commanded the max deal he desired. His talent and defensive impact can be considerable and with so many teams clearing cap space in 2015 along with the knowledge of a new influx of money from the upcoming television deal, teams won't be shy spending money. The $3.7 million qualifying offer would have been a risk for a guard that has had serious knee injuries in the past, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't have worked.
Luckily for the Suns, they budged off their four-year, $48 million offer that held strong most of the summer and came to a compromise with Bledsoe. It took away any angst for the upcoming season and allowed both sides to concentrate on basketball. So far, the Suns have been a little slow out of the gate as they adjust to so many weapons on their team. The addition of Thomas has forced an interesting balance to be found by Jeff Hornacek's team.
Last season, the Suns were an exciting, young offense that ranked eighth in the NBA in offensive rating. They scored 107.1 points per 100 possessions by bombarding opponents with 3-pointers and shots at the rim. It nearly got them a surprise berth in the Western Conference playoffs, finishing with 48 wins and one game behind the Dallas Mavericks for the 8-seed. So far this season, the Suns have been less effective on offense.
They're 6-5 following a win over the Boston Celtics on the road Monday night, but their offense is scoring just 104.1 points per 100 possessions, which is good for 14th in the NBA. Bledsoe is fifth on the team in scoring at 13.5 points per game but is also averaging 5.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds.
