Could the Celtics acquire Eric Bledsoe with the Disabled Player Extension?
It's official: the Phoenix Suns stink!
After their first three contests, the team has gone winless and is averaging a 30-point deficit in those games. They made history on opening night when they lost by a whopping 48 points to the Portland Trail Blazers, which was the worst loss that the franchise has ever experienced. The blowout was also the greatest deficit seen in an NBA season opener.
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 19, 2017
After competing with the lowly Los Angeles Lakers, but still losing by two points, the team faced off against the Los Angeles Clippers, and were again emasculated in a 42-point defeat. This string of embarrassing losses led to their coach, Earl Watson, being fired.
Then, to add to the developing shit-storm taking place in Phoenix, their lone All-Star, Eric Bledsoe, tweeted this out last night:
This is a classic case of over-thinking it. And then cracking under pressure. Bledsoe definitely regretted that tweet mere moments after he posted it, and had been thinking of excuses trying to cover his tracks all the way up until he spoke with McDonough. It's like when you call out sick from work, but you're really just taking a long weekend. There's some guilt associated. And even though you're having a great time on your little vacation, the thought of getting caught sometimes creeps in. And then you start silently creating excuses, trying to find the one that won't leave any shred of a doubt. They all sound idiotic, but they're realistic enough. Then, when the moment comes to face the Big Man, you stutter and shake and the excuse that you give them sounds just as dumb as it did in your head, and you know that they don't believe you....
Anyways, that's all that ownership needed to make their decision on Bledsoe: he's out of here, mister! McDonough said that Bledsoe, "won't be with [them] going forward," after Bledsoe was sent home from shoot-around this morning and told that he won't be suiting up for tonight's match.
Then, to add to the developing shit-storm taking place in Phoenix, their lone All-Star, Eric Bledsoe, tweeted this out last night:
But according to Bledsoe, the tweet wasn't even about the Suns. When Suns' GM Ryan McDonough confronted him earlier today about the message, he told the GM that the when he pressed the 'send' button, he was at a hair salon with his significant other, and was just venting his frustrations about that, current situation.I Dont wanna be here— Eric Bledsoe (@EBled2) October 22, 2017
This is a classic case of over-thinking it. And then cracking under pressure. Bledsoe definitely regretted that tweet mere moments after he posted it, and had been thinking of excuses trying to cover his tracks all the way up until he spoke with McDonough. It's like when you call out sick from work, but you're really just taking a long weekend. There's some guilt associated. And even though you're having a great time on your little vacation, the thought of getting caught sometimes creeps in. And then you start silently creating excuses, trying to find the one that won't leave any shred of a doubt. They all sound idiotic, but they're realistic enough. Then, when the moment comes to face the Big Man, you stutter and shake and the excuse that you give them sounds just as dumb as it did in your head, and you know that they don't believe you....
Anyways, that's all that ownership needed to make their decision on Bledsoe: he's out of here, mister! McDonough said that Bledsoe, "won't be with [them] going forward," after Bledsoe was sent home from shoot-around this morning and told that he won't be suiting up for tonight's match.
ESPN Sources: Eric Bledsoe met with team this morning before shootaround and he was sent home. He will not play tonight against Sacramento.— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 23, 2017
McDonough RE: Bledsoe's tweet: "He said he was at a hair salon... I didn't believe that to be true. He won't be with us going forward."— ABC15 Sports (@abc15sports) October 23, 2017
Sources: Suns engaged in trade talks w/ several teams on Bledsoe. Phoenix soliciting offers with expectation he’s on move elsewhere. https://t.co/mj4raCATlp— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 23, 2017
With Trader Danny Ainge behind the reigns of the Boston Celtics, having a player like Bledsoe on the trade-block will always create excitement in Boston. Of course, the Celtics could make a run at EB, who is under contract to make 14.5 million buckaroos this season, but in order to do so, they'd more than likely have to give up some of their promising youth. It could still be worth it, as Bledsoe is only 27 years old and is a complete guard who can score, pass, rebound, and play defense, but I doubt that Danny would be willing to sacrifice our deep future for another guard, especially because bringing in Bledsoe would just add another gigantic contract to the Cs' books when Bledsoe's deal expires in two years and he needs to re-sign.
Things, however, have gotten interesting ever since Gordon Hayward went down, because with his injury comes the Disabled Player Extension, which Danny Ainge has said that he'll pursue. NBA front offices can apply for the DPE if one of their major players gets hurt and is expected to miss the majority of the season. If an NBA approved doctor determines that a player will most likely be out until June 15th, then the league can grant the Extension, and the team will be given 8.4 million dollars to use that won't count against their Cap Space.
Restrictions like this one are put in place for a good reason. It would be far too beneficial for the Celtics if they were able to keep their entire roster, let Hayward slowly recover in preparation for the future, and then add another All-Star who would be on-board for the long haul. With this clause, the team would still be able to potentially replace Hayward while he's out with an injury, but that's as far as it would take them. Once GH returns, then the team would be back to square one, at the same spot that they were before their star was hurt.
So, while putting a green jersey on Eric Bledsoe would be fun, I think it's unlikely. The Celtics wouldn't be able to use any shortcuts, and would have to acquire him the old-fashioned way: by trading assets. It could happen, but the Cs would likely have to part ways with Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown, or another one of their guards, and if we traded someone at a taller position, then we would be left with barely any big men on the roster.
Also worth mentioning is EB's injury record. In his seven seasons in the league, he has only played more than 70 games, three times. Over three games this season, Bledsoe is averaging 15.7 points, 3 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per-game. In his career, he's put up 13.1 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per-contest.
Please, lets take it easy with the Eric Bledsoe hypothetical trades. It won't happen easily, and in the end, it wouldn't help the Cs' long-term plan, anyways.
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Photo: Getty Images
Things, however, have gotten interesting ever since Gordon Hayward went down, because with his injury comes the Disabled Player Extension, which Danny Ainge has said that he'll pursue. NBA front offices can apply for the DPE if one of their major players gets hurt and is expected to miss the majority of the season. If an NBA approved doctor determines that a player will most likely be out until June 15th, then the league can grant the Extension, and the team will be given 8.4 million dollars to use that won't count against their Cap Space.
So, can the Celtics use the DPE to get Eric Bledsoe? Plain and simply put, no they can not, because the DPE comes with a ton of restrictions. One of these restrictions is that the DPE can only be used to acquire a player for the remainder of this season. That means that the player who they bring in would have to be on the last year of their contract, and couldn't have any player or team options for a potential additional year. Eric Bledsoe still has two years left on his deal, which means that he's disqualified from contention of being a counter-part in a trade using the DPE.Eric Bledsoe at shoot around this morning: pic.twitter.com/f5ZamIjxJa— Cloud 35 Podcast (@Cloud35Podcast) October 23, 2017
Restrictions like this one are put in place for a good reason. It would be far too beneficial for the Celtics if they were able to keep their entire roster, let Hayward slowly recover in preparation for the future, and then add another All-Star who would be on-board for the long haul. With this clause, the team would still be able to potentially replace Hayward while he's out with an injury, but that's as far as it would take them. Once GH returns, then the team would be back to square one, at the same spot that they were before their star was hurt.
So, while putting a green jersey on Eric Bledsoe would be fun, I think it's unlikely. The Celtics wouldn't be able to use any shortcuts, and would have to acquire him the old-fashioned way: by trading assets. It could happen, but the Cs would likely have to part ways with Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown, or another one of their guards, and if we traded someone at a taller position, then we would be left with barely any big men on the roster.
Also worth mentioning is EB's injury record. In his seven seasons in the league, he has only played more than 70 games, three times. Over three games this season, Bledsoe is averaging 15.7 points, 3 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per-game. In his career, he's put up 13.1 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per-contest.
Please, lets take it easy with the Eric Bledsoe hypothetical trades. It won't happen easily, and in the end, it wouldn't help the Cs' long-term plan, anyways.
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Photo: Getty Images