The Phoenix Suns have announced that point guard Eric Bledsoe will miss the remainder of the 2015-16 season after having surgery on his torn left meniscus. This is horrible news for a young player enjoying a career year and for a franchise that is in complete disarray.
Bledsoe has averaged 20.4 points, 6.1 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.5 threes per game during the first two months of the season, all of which are career highs. After being acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in 2013, Bledsoe has blossomed into one of the best young guards in the NBA. Before the beginning of last season, the Suns signed Bledsoe to a contract extension worth $70 million over five years. It is truly devastating to see such a talented and exciting young player see his season end before the calendar even flips over to the new year.
As for the Suns organization, Bledsoe’s injury certainly adds to a string of events that have spelled disaster for the franchise. Just a year and a half ago, Phoenix shocked everyone by winning 48 games in the loaded Western Conference with a young nucleus led by Bledsoe and former Suns point guard, Goran Dragic. Fast forward to the end of 2015 and the Phoenix Suns sit at 12-21 with no clear plans for the immediate or long term future. Markieff Morris has been suspended by the team and has expressed his strong desire to be traded following the offseason departure of his twin brother, Marcus Morris. Phoenix has just fired its top two assistant coaches, and head coach Jeff Hornacek is reportedly on the hot seat as well. With Bledsoe’s season-ending injury being added to the list of problems in the desert, the current state of the Suns is awfully gloomy.
