After a wait that seemed like forever, the Phoenix Suns have finally agreed to terms with restricted free agent point guard Eric Bledsoe on a five-year, $70 million contract.
The deal comes after several months of negotiations and stalemated progress between the two sides, and just six days before the NBA’s deadline for restricted free agents to accept a qualifying offer. The long wait proved to be well worth it for Bledsoe, however, as his deal is easily the largest of any restricted free agent this offseason. Bledsoe had previously rejected a four-year, $48 million offer from the Suns.
Had an agreement not been reached by the end of this week, Bledsoe would have signed a one-year qualifying-offer worth $3.7 million, and became an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
Bledsoe entered the league when he was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 18th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, but was soon traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, where he spent his first three NBA seasons. While Bledsoe showed promise with the Clippers, his playing time was extremely limited after the team acquired Chris Paul, and he was subsequently traded to the Suns as part of a three-team deal that also involved the Milwaukee Bucks on July 10, 2013.
Although a torn meniscus caused the 24-year-old to miss 39 games last season, Bledsoe impressed in his first and only season in Phoenix, averaging 17.7 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per contest, while shooting a very solid 47.7% from the field.
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