For pro hoops fans, any doubt Eric Bledsoe has played his last game for the Suns faded away after general manager Ryan McDonough lit into him and his agent Rich Paul in an interview the other day. The anger is understandable; after all, he essentially drew a line in the sand when he saw fit to tweet 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be here鈥 over the weekend, a development that both reflected his desire to be traded and led to the ouster of head coach Earl Watson. Though the point guard insisted that he made his social media contribution while in a hair salon with his girlfriend over another matter altogether, the terrible optics sealed his fate.
That said, McDonough did the Suns no favors with his candor during an interview aired on the Arizona Sports radio channel 98.7. Considering that he and owner Robert Sarver had obviously had enough of Bledsoe, the last thing he should have done was to deflate the trade value of his asset. In this regard, it bears noting that he had been fielding a number of calls for potential deals, but did not — or could not — yet latch on to one because of his high asking price.
Certainly, there can be no faulting McDonough for taking the position that 鈥渢he ideal time to get a deal done is whenever the best offer presents itself.鈥 And he鈥檚 right, too; the worst decisions are those made in the heat of the moment. On the other hand, it doesn鈥檛 make sense for him to preach prudence and then make his job harder by bringing Bledsoe down, if for no other reason than to be perceived as aggrieved. He wants what he deems a fair return, but at the same time casts doubt on the character of the player he is shopping around.
It鈥檚 bad enough that, in terms of timing, McDonough is hampered by National Basketball Association rules that prevent many of the Suns鈥 potential acquisitions from being made available until Dec. 15. And with practical considerations all but preventing him to make a move before then, he would do well to, in fact, highlight Bledsoe鈥檚 strengths instead of training the spotlight on his frailties. Saying he鈥檚 鈥渁n energy drain, or moping around, or honestly not putting great effort,鈥 he鈥檚 not convincing even the most ardent suitors to up the ante. Why pay a lot for a headache?
Which is just too bad. As McDonough acknowledged, Bledsoe 鈥渋s a talented player, and a good player.鈥 Why add 鈥渕isguided鈥 to the description? 鈥淭his was a decision Eric made and, unfortunately, he has to live with that. And we have to live with the consequences.鈥 Indeed.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.
