There is Some Good, and Some Bad, in the Eric Bledsoe Trade
Eric Bledsoe seems to be getting his wish. It was reported earlier today that a trade was being finalized that would send him to the Bucks for Greg Monroe and a first round pick. This trade is both good and bad in my opinion.
Let’s go with the good first. The Bucks are floundering a bit now. It’s only 8 or 9 games, but they are currently below .500. I’m sure they’ll put it all together, I mean, they have Giannis, and he is amazing. What they are lacking though is a true point guard. That is Eric Bledsoe. This dude gets after it when he has something to play for. He is a bull dog on defense. He’s great at setting teammates up, and if you need him to score, he’ll go out and get you 20. He is easily the best point guard they have now. They’ve tried Matthew Dellavedova. He stinks. I’ve never been a fan of his, and since leaving Cleveland, he’s done nothing. They tried Michael Carter Williams, and he’s not even on the team anymore. They’ve tried Malcolm Brogdon, and he is so much better at the 2. Hell, they’ve even put Giannis at point guard, but that led to overuse. Bledsoe comes in and there is no question as to who the point is now. I also think he stabilizes this team. Giannis won’t have to do so much. He’ll be able to get to his spots now, and Bledsoe can set him up. This also opens things up for Brogdon. He can be the true spot up shooter and ball hawk defender. When Jabari Parker gets back from injury, he will be able to get multiple open looks. I can see Thon Maker being a great pick and roll guy with Bledsoe. Overall, this really helps out a Bucks team that needs it. Bledsoe will come in determined to prove Phoenix wrong, and that could help the Bucks push to a 4, possibly even 3, seed in the East. I think this trade puts the Bucks up there with the Wizards and Raptors in the East.
Now, the bad. I do think Bledsoe will be motivated, but what if the Bucks swoon continues? Will he want out, just like he did in Phoenix? Will he tweet, “I don’t want to be here anymore”, and claim it’s from a salon in Milwaukee? He’s done this before on a bad team. Who’s to say he won’t do it again. Bledsoe also needs to know going in that this is Giannis’ team. Guys like Brogdon, Maker and Parker have bought in. Bledsoe was “the guy” in Phoenix until all the complaining. Will he accept his second banana role? Time will tell. I think he will though. He also needs to learn the plays. This is an easy thing to do, but it takes time. The Bucks might not start winning right away, but eventually, they should right the ship. While the East isn’t filled with great teams, there are some great point guards that Bledsoe will have to face. He’ll match up with Kyrie, John Wall, Kyle Lowry and even guys like Ben Simmons, who looks incredible right now. That’s a tall order.
But my final “bad” news thing, I wish he had gone to the Nuggets. I love what the Nuggets are doing, but they need a true point guard to be any kind of threat. I would have loved to see him paired up with Kenneth Faried, Nikola Jokic, Paul Milsap and Jamal Murray. That would’ve been a hyper athletic, smooth passing and well run machine of an offense. He would have fit in so perfectly in Denver. I suppose the Bucks offer was better, but man it would have been fun to see him in a Nuggets uniform.
All in all though, this was a good trade. The Suns dumped an extremely unhappy guy to a playoff ready team with the best young player in the league. And they got a decent big, Greg Monroe, to group with their young talent, and a first round pick. The Bucks got a true point guard that can defend, and is out to prove another organization wrong. I’m excited to see him play his first game with the Bucks. I’ve always been a fan of a fully engaged Eric Bledsoe.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.
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