Bledsoe speaks

[johnson]

Bledsoe just made a comment that the Suns are using the RFA clause "against him." Cry me a river. He signed up for that clause so you'd assume his agent explained how it could work.

I like the stance the Suns have taken with him. He can want a max deal all he wants, but it's ridiculous. He's been in the NBA for 4 years and was a backup for 3 of them (behind a max deal type player). There are very few max deal guys in the NBA (Lebron, Carmelo, Kobe)...does Bledsoe really think he belongs in that group? Nobody else should.

The one year he started he was really good, but not even max deal good, and for only 43 games. He deserves a contract to make him rich, but the same thing as Lebron is getting? Wow. There's a reason nobody has offered him that or anything close to it.

Hoping he gets a little more realistic. Or uses this last year as motivation to prove he deserves that contract.

 

[Orange602]

Max deals differ depending on how long a player has been in the league. A max contract for Bledsoe isn't as much as a max contact for Lebron. I believe that a max contract for Bledsoe is somewhere in the range of 16 million per year (Lebron's is around 20 million per year). Chandler Parsons and Gordon Hayward received max contracts this off season and they will not be making as much as Lebron.

That said, Bledsoe is not worth a max contract. He has already had 2 major knee issues and missed half of the season in his first year as a starter. I understand that he wants a paycheck that will last him just in case his knee completely gives out, but the Suns shouldn't offer him more than 13 million per year (and even that is pushing it). The Suns are also being careful not to overpay Bledsoe because his contract will set the bar for Dragic's contract next off season.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Davis_Mike]

Understanding 2014 NBA Maximum Contracts

How Does A Maximum Contract Work?

Not all maximum contracts are created equally in the NBA, as a few conditions surround the scenario. To start, the most important factor to note here is that the 2014-15 NBA Salary Cap has not yet been 100% confirmed. We’ve heard through the grapevine that the projected figure is $63.2 million per team – a 7.7% increase from the 2013-14 cap.

First Year Salary Comparison

The first condition to assess mathematically is the comparison between a 5% increase from the player’s current salary and the maximum allotted percentage of a cap a player can obtain. The latter breaks down as such:

A player’s first year salary is the greater of the two (105% of his current salary, or the percentage of the overall cap per the above table). In Carmelo Anthony’s case, 105% of his current salary equals $22,458,401. Because this figure is greater than the projected $22,120,000 for players of his experience, we use the larger number to begin his maximum contract. LeBron James however didn’t receive a fully maximum contract when signing with the Miami Heat. 105% of his current salary comes out to $20,020,875. Because this figure is lower than the allotted $22,120,000, we’ll use the latter for his new maximum, contract.

Annual Raise Percentage

This is where things get interesting. Should the player re-sign his maximum contract with his current team, his salary can be raised annually by 7.5%. Should he sign with another team, the raise becomes just 4.5%, a significant advantage to teams in terms of keeping their best players in town.

Basically, a max 5 year max deal with 4.5% annual raises for Bledsoe would look like this:
-5years/$86,437,214
-Year 1: $15,800,800
-Year 2: $16,511,000
-Year 3: $17,253,995
-Year 4: $18,030,425
-Year 5: $18,841,794

Reportedly, he is ONLY asking for 5/$80 mil. What a nice humble guy he is...

After only a half season of showing what he is capable of, there is no way his value is at anything close to the max he is looking for. The market has basically told him that by having not ONE team try to force Phoenix's hand with an offer sheet. Hayward & Parsons both got max type deals but Bledsoe hasn't. There is reason for that.

The Suns should stick to their guns with their current offer or add a little to it in the end to make it 4/$50 instead of 4/$48. If Bledsoe ends up just playing under the RFA salary for the season, the Suns could trade him at the trade deadline when his value could be higher if plays injury free for the first time in his career.

Either way, the Suns are sitting in the catbird seat.

Disclaimer: Max salary numbers for 5 years was calculated by me using the 4.5% yearly raise. So it may or may not be accurate.

 

[johnson]

Good posts, guys. I wasn't aware of exactly how that worked. I still wouldn't change the basic gist of my post, but it's obviously not as strong considering how the contract would be structured.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

Via Hoops Rumors-

The relationship between the Suns and Eric Bledsoe appears to be souring further, as a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that an “ominous development” has emerged with both sides still very far apart in contract negotiations.

The source adds that “the relationship is on the expressway to being ruined” at this point. This summer, Bledsoe had drawn significant interest from teams such as the Bucks and Jazz; however, Phoenix has effectively scared off potential suitors by making it clear that any offer sheet that the restricted free agent receives would be matched,

The "SOURCE" aka his agent is the one to blame. He's an idiot if he thinks Bledsoe will get anywhere near 80 million. Bledsoe is just getting fed info from his agent that he wants to hear to help tear the "relationship" apart so they end up being forced to trade him to a team that overpays for him... which won't happen. It's a lose-lose situation for Richard Paul and if I'm Tristan Thompson (the only other player he represents besides LeBron and Bled) then I would fire his ass and find an agent that isn't making an ass of himself after his first true negotiation. I mean, LeBron doesn't need an agent to get a max deal... so he hasn't accomplished SHIT.

 

[Orange602]

Fuck Rich Paul.

 

[Orange602]

Bledsoe should sign the fucking qualifying offer if he is so unhappy with the Suns. Do it, bitch.

 

[FORKWDEVIL]

He is NOT fucking Michael Jordan.
I say lose him! I know NBA and he is not worth more than 10. He is more of a liability vs asset right now.

 

[tuffydahog]

Suns offer nearly 50 million dollars over 4 years and source says the relationship is almost irreparable? Okay. Trade him for the best deal you can get and rid yourself of this egotistical moron because ain't gonna bring the Larry O'Brien trophy to AZ anytime soon anyway.

 

[Jonas_steven]

Bledsoe can go fuck himself!

 

[GMATCa]

Consider that Tony Parker just inked an extension for three years and $43M ...

 

[ChrisperJ10]

Bledsoe =

 

[johnson]

The guy is delusional (or his agent is). RFA is not how Rich Paul pretends to think it works. You don't use it against someone. The market dictates what happens.

So if a team felt Bledsoe was worth a max contract, they'd make him an offer (assuming they had the cap space). Remember when the Hornets said they'd match any offer made to Eric Gordon last year? Well, (ironically), the Suns wanted Gordon and made him an offer. Hornets matched it.

Play out this year then, try not to miss 41 games, and get paid big.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

Read Gambo's open letter to Bledsoe. It's beautifully accurate.