Editor’s Note: This story has been updated as new information becomes available.
Timberwolves, Suns getting nowhere on sign-and-trade proposals for Eric Bledsoe, according to reports
The Wolves are willing to offer Eric Bledsoe a four-year, $63 million max contract, but the Suns are not interested in working out a sign-and-trade offer.
Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sport
The Minnesota Timberwolves are willing to offer Suns restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe a four-year, $63 million max contract, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. However, the Suns are not interested in the sign-and-trade packages the Timberwolves are offering, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Suns would want an All-Star – or potential All-Star – in return for Bledsoe and had only considered Kevin Love in a possible sign-and-trade scenario with the Timberwolves, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Minnesota is over the salary cap, so it must send back enough salary to match NBA trade rules to acquire Bledsoe. The Timberwolves only want to dump bad contracts on Phoenix, according to Wojnarowski, and the Suns aren’t interested.
If the two teams cannot come to a sign-and-trade agreement, it effectively ends Minnesota’s pursuit. In that situation, Bledsoe would either need to accept Phoenix’s last offer of four years and $48 million or take the one-year qualifying offer, like Detroit’s Greg Monroe did, and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Bledsoe has until Oct. 1 to make that decision.
Discussions of sending Bledsoe to Minnesota originated several months ago as part of larger proposals for Kevin Love, Windhorst reports. Bledsoe was reportedly offered to Minnesota for Love just before the Timberwolves’ deal with Cleveland became official, but Minnesota rejected.
Bright Side of the Sun
Negotiations between Bledsoe, a restricted free agent, and the Suns have gone poorly after his breakout season in his first year in the desert. The Suns have held firm in offering just four years and $48 million, while Bledsoe’s camp was hoping to receive a five-year maximum contract. Feelings were so strained that Bledsoe and Suns owner Robert Sarver have not communicated since the end of the season.
Bledsoe averaged 17.7 points and 5.5 assists per game in his first year in Phoenix after being acquired from the Clippers last summer. He played in just 43 games due to a knee injury.
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