Eric Bledsoe was one of the prizes of this free agency class, but with training camp mere weeks away, he remains unsigned. Bledsoe wants a max contract, but the Suns have only offered him $48 million over 4 years and teams are afraid to make an offer to Bledsoe since the Suns have said they will match any offers.
Because of all this, it looks highly likely that Bledsoe will sign the Suns’ one-year qualifying offer, which will make him an unrestricted free agent. So next summer, when the Lakers once again will have max-level money, they could sign Bledsoe outright to a contract.
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And the Lakers would be crazy to give him that kind of money.
Maximum contracts are for the elite players in the NBA. The best of the best. Bledsoe has not proven to be that. Only six point guards have max-contracts right now: Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, John Wall, and Kyrie Irving most recently.
Whether or not all of these players have lived up to the contract after signing it, there is no argument that all of these players proved themselves for multiple seasons leading into their max deals:
Kyrie Irving
2013: 22.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.5 steals, 45.2% shooting, All-Star
2014: 20.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.5 steals, 43.0% shooting, All-Star
Chris Paul
2012: 19.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 2.5 steals, 47.8% shooting, 1st Team All-NBA, 1st Team All-Defense
2013: 16.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 2.4 steals, 48.1% shooting, 1st Team All-NBA, 1st Team All-Defense
Derrick Rose
2010: 20.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 0.7 steals, 48.9% shooting, All-Star
2011: 25.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.0 steals, 44.5% shooting, NBA MVP, 1st Team All-NBA
John Wall
2012: 16.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.4 steals, 42.3% shooting
2013: 18.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 1.3 steals, 44.1% shooting
Russell Westbrook
2011: 21.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.9 steals, 44.2% shooting, 2nd Team All-NBA, All-Star
2012: 23.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.7 steals, 45.7% shooting, 2nd Team All-NBA, All-Star
Deron Williams
2011: 20.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 1.2 steals, 43.9% shooting, All-Star
2012: 21.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 1.2 steals, 40.7% shooting, All-Star
The only player not to make an All-Star game before receiving the contract was Wall. However, the Wizards had three seasons with Wall starting every game he played to know that he was a point guard and the leader of their team.
[divide]Kobe On What Drives Him, The Two Moves That Make Him Successful And Advice To Nick Young
PAGE 2: Lakers Would Be Foolish To Give Eric Bledsoe A Max Contract
Bledsoe’s numbers are solid, but he has never been the leader of a team, never been the full-time point guard for a team, and has yet to prove that he can stay healthy on a consistent basis.
With Derrick Rose, Greg Oden, and Brandon Roy fresh in our heads as players who have had their careers hindered or ended by knee injuries, Bledsoe having torn his meniscus twice in the same knee is more than enough to give me a pause. But just as disturbing is how Bledsoe has handled this free agency situation.
— Have You Seen These LIMITED EDITION “Can’t Handle Randle” T-Shirts? —
I am all for players trying to get their money in free agency, but a refusal of anything but a maximum contract and not even negotiating after a 43 game sample is mind boggling. Stephen Curry, Rajon Rondo, Ty Lawson, and Kyle Lowry all had either equal or superior accomplishments when negotiating new contracts, and all will be making $12 million or less this year.
There could be six excellent point guard options in free agency next summer and quite frankly, the gap in potential between Bledsoe and everyone else isn’t big at all — surely not enough to pay him significantly more than the rest.
If the Lakers feel like they have to bring in a maximum contract point guard, bringing Rajon Rondo from the dark side into the light is the easy decision. He’s only 28 years old, has championship experience, and makes his teammates better. You know what you’re getting in Rondo and he could be perfect to bridge the gap from Kobe to the Lakers’ next superstar.
Jackson also has playoff experience and showed the ability to step up when it matters most with a 32 point, nine rebound performance in a crucial first-round game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Add in the fact that he could come $3-4 million cheaper than Bledsoe and it’s a no-brainer.
A little more qualified, but a lot less likely would be Kemba Walker. Someone else who put up similar numbers to Bledsoe, but has been the full-time starter for the last two seasons and improved his numbers in the playoffs despite the Charlotte Hornets’ best player, Al Jefferson, being less than 100 percent for the series.
With another full season ahead of us, things could always change. Lin-sanity could be re-created in Los Angeles or Jordan Clarkson could wind up being a Gilbert Arenas-like find in the second-round. Bledsoe could become an All-Star or Rondo could struggle to return from his injury from two years ago.
But one thing is for sure, the Lakers need to find their point guard of the future. At the end of the day, there are too many injuries and good options available for the Lakers to throw a max contract at Eric Bledsoe.
[divide]Kobe On What Drives Him, The Two Moves That Make Him Successful And Advice To Nick Young