Rumors: Is Eric Bledsoe heading to the New York Knicks?

Posted by on Jun 24, 2015 12:49

For two days, Knicks and Suns fans have been hearing about a potential deal that would send nuclear-powered point guard Eric Bledsoe and the No. 13 pick to New York and the No. 4 pick to Phoenix.

Dwarfed by the larger rumors out of Sacramento, the past 48 hours hasn’t confirmed a thing regarding the intentions of the Knicks or the Suns.

As I’ve been known to do from time to time, indulge me as I put on my detective’s hat.

Who started this rumor?

Unlike the current Boogie Cousins/George Karl crank measuring contest, Adrian Wojnarowski (pbuh) was not the first to report this potential bi-coastal exchange. Hoops Hype ran the trail back to Sean Deveney of Sporting News, whose exact report was Phoenix was shopping Bledsoe around the league — not just to the Knicks.

Other reports have trickled out linking New York to Frank Kaminsky, meaning (a) the Knicks are actively looking to trade down or (b) LA LA LA WE’RE THE KNICKS WE’RE THE KNICKS WE’RE THE KNICKS.

Steve Kyler, meanwhile, hasn’t been buying what the Internet has been selling.

What?!! Is it possible a clicks-hungry NBA Twitterverse would take off with an unfounded rumor? I’m too hurt! And shocked! And offended! And hurt!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbDcEc0LRCY

Let’s pretend this rumor is real… Should the Knicks do this?

As Phil Jackson told the New York Times last week, the Knicks were banking on a Top 2 pick. As complicated as the 2014-15 Knicks made the Triangle look a year ago, it does contain some simple truths. Jackson needs to acquire talent that can confidently move the ball and find the open man. With a healthy Carmelo Anthony back next season, the Knicks finally have a perimeter threat (ala Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant) who demands the defense’s full attention.

Here’s another fact: the Knicks have the worst big men in the league, and you cannot successful run the Triangle with Cole Aldrich and Jason Smith at center.

Jackson has been vocal about exploring his options on Thursday. He clearly wanted Karl Anthony-Towns and Jahlil Okafor, and it would take a miraculous fall out of the Top 3 for one of them to end up in New York.

What about D’Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay?

Russell is primed to swing this draft on Thursday. If the Lakers take Russell at No. 2, suddenly the 76ers are considering a big man for the third consecutive year. What if they take Kristaps Porzingis at No. 3? Suddenly New York has Okafor fall into their lap. Jackson would probably kiss Steve Mills on the open mouth!

If the Lakers take Okafor — the far more likely scenario — Russell could still end up in New York if Philadelphia prefers Porzingis. That would leave the Knicks with Mudiay or the prospect of trading out of the pick.

The Knicks have a busy off-season ahead of them. They only have $32 million invested in next season’s roster, and outside of Anthony, their entire starting lineup is up for grabs. New York has long been linked to Greg Monroe, and the underrated big man should be well worth the price on a contract that will age well as the salary cap touches the sky. If Jackson nabs Monroe, it puts the Knicks that much closer to making the playoffs in the cruddy East. One more respectable talent — Bledsoe, perhaps — could push New York above the 41 wins it took Boston to secure the No. 7 seed last season.

The opportunity to turn their also-ran lottery pick into Bledsoe warrants consideration — again, if it’s an actual possibility. A lot has been said about how Bledsoe is an imperfect fit for the Triangle. He’s a bricky 3-point shooter, connecting on just 33.5 percent  of his perimeter shots in 124 games in Phoenix.

But he’s also an athletic dynamo, possibly the best rebounding guard in basketball, and a potential harness for his opponents on the defensive end. He played in 81 games last season after an injury-riddled 2013-14. Bledsoe just averaged 17 points, six assists and five rebounds for the Suns. Perfect fit or not, the Knicks are miles away from that type of point guard production.

Bledsoe is also on advantageous long-term deal as the NBA sees a flood of money enter its economy the next two years. He’s on the books for four more years with an escalating annual salary between $13.5 and $15 million. That’s great value!

Selecting Russell or Mudiay would be the Knicks betting on their draftee being a better pro than Bledsoe. The tough part is we’re not 100 percent sure what Bledsoe’s destiny is just yet.

Should the Suns agree to this deal?

Let’s start with this:

The 2014-15 Suns were built around a three-headed monster at point guard. By the end of June 2015, all three of those guards, apparently, could be playing elsewhere, making the above picture hilarious.

The Goran Dragic trade netted the team a pair of first round draft picks, and dealing Isaiah Thomas got them one more. The Suns ended up acquiring Brandon Knight, a restricted free agent, but in order to do so parted ways with a potential lottery pick from the Lakers. We’re all still trying to figure out what exactly happened.

The idea from outside the organization was that Phoenix was rebuilding around Bledsoe and Knight in the backcourt, the Morris twins at forward and Alex Len at center. But this outfit is worrisome.

J.A. Adande was vocal on Tuesday about Bledsoe not being a franchise guy — similar to a “Joe Johnson in Atlanta” situation. As my colleagues Bryan Gibberman and Sean Woodley discussed this week on the Crossover Chronicles podcast, there are question marks on Len (his ankles) and the Morris twins (their character), and it’s worth wondering if any of these guys are true blue franchise cornerstones.

This is a young team with more assets than anything. Phoenix isn’t making the playoffs in 2015-16, and its moves over the past four months reflect an awareness of that. Why would any of these guys be off the table? If they can turn Bledsoe into a rookie point guard you are higher on, why wouldn’t the Suns do it?

Here’s the deal. The difference in average salary between the No. 4 pick ($4 million) and No. 13 pick ($2 million) is nothing compared to the savings gained from turning Bledsoe ($14 million) into a rookie-wage salary. And if you’re Phoenix, a non-contender for the foreseeable future, that $10 million is valuable — especially when the gap between Mudiay or Russell and Bledsoe could be closed before the end of that rookie deal.

Is this deal going down?

That’s the fun of draft night. We have no idea. Russell could fall anywhere between the second and fifth pick and everything else that happens Thursday night changes. These rumors could be a smoke screen for something else — maybe New York really does love Russell, or maybe they really want Mudiay and the trade rumors are meant to throw teams off their scent.

I don’t believe Phoenix owes anything to Bledsoe. They didn’t “pick him” over Dragic and Thomas; that’s a false narrative. If they’re out of the mix, for now, in the West, then the Suns should shed salary, get even younger, and build for tomorrow. I’m not sure if Russell or Mudiay will be better than Bledsoe, but they almost definitely have a higher ceiling, and come at a fraction of the cost over the next four years.

The Knicks want to win basketball games sooner than later. They owe that much to their fans who are dropping $125 to see them get spanked from the Chase bridges at the Garden. If they can build this team with guys like Bledsoe and Monroe — affordable, young talent — it’s all the better.

But who are we kidding? The Knicks are taking Kaminsky at No. 4.

https://twitter.com/jaycaspiankang/status/613319715562332160

About Joe Mags

The next Sherlock Holmes just as soon as someone points me to my train and asks how I'm feeling. I highly recommend following me @thatjoemags, and you can read my work on Tumblr (thatjoemags.tumblr.com). I am the Senior NBA Writer at Crossover Chronicles. I'm also a contributor for The Comeback, Awful Announcing and USA Today Sports Weekly.

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