Does Eric Bledsoe make sense for the 76ers?
By Luke Swiatek
The Phoenix Suns are going through an organizational transition; should the Philadelphia 76ers make a move for their starting point guard?
This summer, almost all of the big names expected to be moved did end up somewhere else. Carmelo Anthony, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Chris Paul, and even Kyrie Irving all are wearing different uniforms now than they were this time last year. Others like Paul Millsap and Gordon Hayward changed teams in free agency.
One name that has flown under the radar is Eric Bledsoe. He’s been on the trade block for at least a year, as he’s a good trade asset but doesn’t really fit the timeline of a team with eight players that are either 22 or younger.
The Suns right now are an organization in even more turmoil than usual. They fired head coach Earl Watson after only three games this year (an NBA record for the fewest games coached in a season before getting fired). Bledsoe has been blunt about his feelings about the Suns:
I Dont wanna be here
— Eric Bledsoe (@EBled2) October 22, 2017
During my writing of this piece, extra information surfaced that solidified Bledsoe’s departure.
Full quote from Suns GM Ryan McDonough RE: the status of Eric Bledsoe and the hair salon comment: pic.twitter.com/kmAKiIAoml
— ABC15 Sports (@abc15sports) October 23, 2017
The divorce between Bledsoe and the Suns has been a long time coming, and now it’s finally time. The real question for us is whether or not the Philadelphia 76ers would be good trade partners.
More from The Sixer Sense
- 3 Sixers players who could help Team USA Basketball
- 76ers 2k24 ratings: 3 most underrated players on Philadelphia roster
- 76ers head coach Nick Nurse bares lofty plans for Paul Reed this season
- Grade the Trade: 76ers swap Tobias Harris for superstar PG in mock deal
- Sixers Podcast: Danny Green returns + James Harden bombshell
The Basic Deal
The only players that would need to be involved in this deal would be Jerryd Bayless and Eric Bledsoe. If the Suns wanted some extra guard depth (considering Brandon Knight‘s season ending injury) the Sixers could add Nik Stauskas to the deal since he can’t get playing time here anyway.
To make things a bit more even, the Philadelphia 76ers would have to throw in some extra draft assets. Just for the sake of argument, I’ll say that the draft picks added are the New York Knicks’ 2019 and 2021 second-round picks.