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10 NBA Teams That Should Trade For Eric Bledsoe

By Gerald Bourguet

Jan 5, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) brings the ball up court against the Dallas Mavericks during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 5, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) brings the ball up court against the Dallas Mavericks during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Eric Bledsoe
Nov 8, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) is fouled by Portland Trail Blazers guard Evan Turner (1) during the third quarter at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports /

10. Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers don’t need to make a trade for a guard with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum already in the backcourt…unless they arrive at the (possibly correct) conclusion that this backcourt won’t thrive together for the long-term and make the preemptive decision to move one of them.

That’s the only way Bledsoe’s name would come up in the Blazers’ inner circle, and with the NBA’s 25th-ranked defense being their main concern to address, it’s highly unlikely a deal like this comes to fruition.

But are we wrong for wondering how a backcourt with Bledsoe and one of Lillard/McCollum would look in Rip City, especially with how well Bledsoe once meshed with Goran Dragic and is now meshing with Devin Booker?

Bledsoe has been most effective when paired with another guard who can knock down threes, which both McCollum and Lillard can do. If the Blazers moved one of their guards, they’d be bringing in a more defensive-minded one who might be a better complement on a far more favorable contract.

Unfortunately, a straight up swap of young guards wouldn’t work because of Lillard’s $24.3 million salary, McCollum’s Poison Pill Provision after signing a four-year, $106 million extension, and the fact that the Suns might prefer to find their new franchise 1-guard through this year’s PG-heavy draft.

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A Bledsoe trade would require Portland to work out a second, separate deal to move one of Lillard or McCollum away, but strictly in terms of the Suns, a package of Festus Ezeli, Ed Davis and a future first round pick might be enough to get it done.

Ezeli is constantly injured, but if he could stay healthy, he’d either be a backup for Alex Len or a replacement with Len’s restricted free agency coming up. Davis is a useful veteran backup who wouldn’t take minutes from Marquese Chriss or Dragan Bender, and the first round pick would be the main asset — provided it’s not Portland’s extra 2017 first-rounder from Cleveland, which is slated to be in the late-20s.

However, as much as the Blazers could put together a more complementary backcourt with Bledsoe, all without really giving anything valuable up, they seem destined to wait too long to realize Lillard and McCollum won’t work together as they chase a bottom-run playoff spot.