Milwaukee Bucks: Examining Eric Bledsoe’s potential fit

Defense

Bledsoe’s size, aggression, competitive nature and wider range of defensive assets mean that he has all of the tools required to be a lockdown defender.

Still, that somehow hasn’t translated up until this point. In an in-depth breakdown of Bledsoe’s overall game late last season, ESPN’s Zach Lowe explained exactly how good Bledsoe could and should be, and posited a theory as to why he can’t be that player consistently.

"“He should be the best point guard defender in the league, but he isn’t. That has made him a strangely polarizing player among rival executives, including some with teams who would make good Bledsoe trade fits. A Bledsoe who pounds the ball and takes possessions off on defense is of limited interest. A Bledsoe who thrives as the second- or third-best player in a motion-style offense and smothers opposing point guards — that’s the guy people want to see.”"

Much like so much of what has to be considered with a player who hasn’t made a playoff team since 2013, it’s hard to divide up exactly what falls on the former Kentucky Wildcat, and what can otherwise be attributed to his teammates.

It would make sense if having to take up a burdensome offensive load in recent years had left Bledsoe with less energy to apply defensively, or if his individual metrics were being skewed by those he was playing with. You could even argue that it would be unsurprising if Bledsoe was guilty of occasionally lacking the drive to turn it up defensively when playing on teams destined for the lottery year in and year out.

What will come to light when Bledsoe does leave Phoenix is whether any of the bad habits he’s developed will be hard to shake in a new environment.

Bledsoe will certainly contribute with base level defensive counting stats in the box score, as a player who averages 1.3 steals and 0.5 blocks per game for his career. In fact, Bledsoe is one of the league’s best shot-blocking point guards, averaging 0.7 blocks per game as recently as last year too.

For the Bucks, the defense is always a major adjustment for any new addition who comes in, and Bledsoe would likely find it no different. Tyler Ennis and Miles Plumlee were two of the most vocal players in recent years when it came to the challenges of adjusting to Milwaukee’s defense, and both of those players had arrived from Phoenix in the Brandon Knight trade.

Although only 6’1″ in terms of height, Bledsoe does possess a 6’7″ wingspan that should make him a comfortable fit with Jason Kidd’s switch-heavy scheme, and Bledsoe’s speed and athleticism should even go toward making him appear even longer when combined with other lengthy players.