The writing appears to be on the wall when it comes to Eric Bledsoe’s time with the Milwaukee Bucks. But just what is the veteran point guard’s trade value around the league?
The rumor mill has been churning around the Milwaukee Bucks since the end of their run this 2019-20 season.
While the biggest topics of interest have faded into the background the further we’ve gotten away from the Bucks’ highly disappointing playoff defeat to the Miami Heat, but it certainly set the tone for their offseason overall. And that certainly applies for Bucks starting point guard Eric Bledsoe.
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After another year of postseason struggles, especially over the course of that five-game Conference Semifinals series against Miami, Bledsoe’s future in Milwaukee is incredibly cloudy.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania ($$) reported in the aftermath of the Bucks’ end to the season that Bledsoe is “expected to become a potential trade candidate.”
We don’t reach this point where Bledsoe is viewed as expendable in the eyes of the Bucks organization if his playoff struggles didn’t persist all throughout his stint in Milwaukee for nearly the last three years. This goes beyond a crisis of faith at this point.
With that, though, comes with the challenging set of circumstances of trying to get something of value in return for the 30-year-old Bledsoe that can positively impact the Bucks’ core and fit alongside the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and so on.
The fact that Bledsoe’s playoff failures have been plain to see over these last three years doesn’t help matters when it comes to conjure up trade offers and find trade partners. That goes on top of his skill limitations, headlined by his shooting deficiencies and the fact that Bledsoe is one of the worst shooters in NBA playoff history.
Bledsoe’s on-court failures cloud over the fact that, while the Bucks will only get diminishing returns for a possible Bledsoe deal, another team taking on Bledsoe and his deal wouldn’t be an albatross. In fact, it’s far from it.
The 10-year veteran just finished up the first season of his four-year $70 million extension, which he signed in March of 2019. While he has three years left on his deal, Bledsoe’s salary for the fourth and final year of his contract is only guaranteed for $3.9 million until it becomes fully guaranteed before the start of the 2022 free agency period, per Spotrac.
While Bledsoe’s yearly salaries ascend here on out, essentially $38.8 million of Bledsoe’s salary over his contract is guaranteed at this juncture. From that standpoint, offloading Bledsoe isn’t a huge financial hurdle.
And even with all of Bledsoe’s limitations and deficiencies considered, the Kentucky product is certainly a starting-caliber player and one of the elite perimeter defenders in the league today. That latter point is certainly reinforced by the fact that Bledsoe has been an All-Defense selection the last two seasons.
The reality is that as much as the Bucks, head coach Mike Budenholzer and his staff have helped optimize and empower Bledsoe into becoming a two-way force within the Bucks’ foundation, Bledsoe’s fit alongside Antetokounmpo isn’t optimal and that’s definitely been exploited in the Bucks’ playoff runs.
When those lasting images inform the Bucks’ position in trade talks, the damaged goods label that is surely to follow Bledsoe doesn’t help matters in this regard. But that’s certainly an exploration worth having another day, especially when the speculation surrounding the Bucks and Bledsoe is surely to ramp up again later this offseason.