Phoenix Suns: Is Eric Bledsoe the Leader Phoenix Needs?

In classic rebuilding team fashion, the Phoenix Suns are a relatively young squad. With an average age of 27 years old (dragged up by a couple of players) the Suns are a team with little experience together or in the league. They are also a team without a clear on-court leader.

For many years, it was the great Steve Nash. After Nash was sent to L.A., Goran Dragic had a short stint as the face of the Suns franchise. Then the chaos of the 2015 trade deadline hit and Dragic was sent away from Phoenix. The Suns spiraled out of control, ending the season on a 1-10 streak.

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The Suns, given their lack of superstar talent, at the very least need a leader. On the court, Each team needs one player who keeps the other guys in line, is willing to play as many minutes as needed to win, and is the one fans and teammates look to. The Suns are no exception.

The most popular player on the Suns is now probably Eric Bledsoe, who is entering the second year of his five-year, $70 million contract with Phoenix. After his first year. there was skepticism that the relationship between the Suns and Bledsoe would be lasting. Jim Coughenour of Bright Side of the Sun wrote an article asking if Eric Bledsoe wanted to be a Sun.

This was due to a) his general quietness as a player and b) his response to questions about returning in his 2014 exit interview. He responded with this.

"“I’m just going into the summer trying to get 100 percent healthy and enjoy my family.”"

The contract standoff that followed only furthered questions about whether Bledsoe was going to be a Sun long-term. However, after the contract dispute ended and Dragic and Isaiah Thomas were sent packing, Eric Bledsoe became the last one standing.

That’s when the narrative began to change. Bledsoe took the reins of the team and things looked OK. That is until the late season injuries and loss of ability to shoot a basketball hit.

There’s one game that stands out as the moment Eric Bledsoe took command. On Feb. 26, the Suns hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder in the middle of Russell Westbrook‘s triple-double binge. Bledsoe put up 28 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists in 42 minutes. He also held Westbrook to a 12-for-38 shooting night. The Suns won in overtime.

Our very own Gerald Bourguet described that game this way

Of course, it’s not just crazy box scores and popularity that make a leader. To truly take on that role requires some off court words as well as actions. This offseason, Bledsoe has come up several times in positive ways that suggest he is ready to take on that extra responsibility.

The first good sign was Bledsoe’s exit interview, where he accepted personal responsibility for the Suns missing the playoffs. Now, that’s not technically true, because a variety of factors worked against the Suns. However, the best players take the responsibility on behalf of their teammates.

Bledsoe also made a point to specifically discuss things he needed to do to help the team more, things not related to just his individual basketball performance.

Players like Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James have a reputation for holding their teammates to high standards, and they are respected as great players who win games in part because of that.

They elevate the players around them, not just because they are personally controlled and unselfish (I suppose that’s debatable for Bryant) but because they have high expectations for the rest of the team. On a team known for arguing with referees, turning the ball over, and falling into other bad habits, a more demanding Bledsoe is a suitable remedy.

Bledsoe has backed up his commitment to the Suns this offseason. He has put in extra work with Alex Len, and traveled to Vegas to observe some of his teammates in the Summer League.

The fact that Bledsoe is spending time working with and watching his teammates during this time is admirable, especially because he is working with the players that the Suns hope will make up their future, such as Len, T.J. Warren, and Devin Booker.

However, there are knocks on Bledsoe’s leadership ability. For one, Eric Bledsoe puts up big numbers in all areas of the box score, which sadly includes turnovers as well. He averaged 3.4 per game last season, and had the 42nd-best assist-to-turnover ratio of 50 point guards who qualified. From watching him, it does not feel like it is turnovers caused by laziness.

In fact, it is the opposite. Bledsoe, like other players who rely on athleticism to do crazy stuff, sometimes does too much too quickly and the ball just sails away from him.

Also, while Eric Bledsoe locked in is probably one of the top 10 or 12 point guards in the league, he doesn’t seem to be locked in as much as may be needed. There are times when he seems to take his foot off the gas a little.

That’s not to say he’s expected to put up near triple-doubles every night, but the Thunder game was a good example of what a motivated Bledsoe on a good day is capable of. Bledsoe squared off Westbrook, who had been destroying everything in his path, and looked like he had something to prove.

The Suns would be a much more dangerous team if he could keep that motivation for extended stretches of time.

As a player, Bledsoe certainly has the skills needed to be the leader of a watchable team. It’s hard to have a leader who is a glaring liability on one end of the floor. While Bledsoe is not much of a ranged shooter, he is a good passer and can attack the basket with ferocity.  He was also  third in the league in defensive real plus-minus among point guards, per ESPN.com.

This season, Bledsoe will not be the second guy whose fit and commitment is in question as he was next to Dragic. Brandon Knight probably won’t draw that suspicion because he’s a likable young man. Bledsoe, because of his quiet personality, will always seem a little colder. In some ways, this is good.

Quieter people, in normal life on the hardwood, get the benefit of avoiding trouble from talking too much, but also may have a harder time being liked because they don’t talk enough.

The fact that Bledsoe is that sort of person should not affect Suns fans’ opinion of his leadership. They should look at his actions on the court (which need improvement) and his actions off it (which have shown improvement).

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Eric Bledsoe is not a good enough NBA player to be the best player on a contending team. However,  Bledsoe has shown positive signs that he can captain a ship that puts a competitive team on the floor on a night to night basis. If that proves to be true, the Suns will take a substantial step in the right direction.

There will still be skepticism about Bledsoe, but it is time for Suns fans to put their trust in both him and the organization. His previous decisions that pushed away the fan base, whether it was for good reason or not should be forgiven.

That’s not to put all the blame on the fans. Bledsoe has been the subject on trade rumors for a long time, and there are still reports that mention suitors despite the seeming lack of advanced trade talks. It is hard for a teams’ fans to throw themselves behind a player is those conditions.

Returning to the central question of whether Eric Bledsoe can be the leader the Suns need to keep improving, the answer is more of a certain yes than it has been. Long-term contract in hand, Bledsoe has shown commitment to the team and to doing better as a player and a leader. Those are very positive signs, and it might be time for the Phoenix faithful to give Bledsoe a full welcome.

This quote Bledsoe gave to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic should be music to everyone’s ears

"“I just thought it was important to be around this summer to put the work in and to show that I’m dedicated to the team,” Bledsoe said. “I was working out with some of the newer guys and I built relations with Archie (Goodwin), T.J. (Warren) and Alex (Len)during the season. I told them I’d come here and check them out to see how much they’ve improved.”"

Quite a change from just getting healthy and spending time with family.

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