Written By Nicolas Hallett
In a surprise revelation, the Minnesota Timberwolves have made a max contract offer to Phoenix Suns free-agent point guard Eric Bledsoe, ESPN reported Friday night, jolting the NBA and putting Ricky Rubio’s future with the team that drafted him in serious jeopardy.
The Timberwolves were presumably finished with their offseason transactions after drafting Zack Lavine at No. 13 overall, while the Kevin Love-saga dragged on for months as the power forward was finally traded to Cleveland with three players — Andrew Wiggins, Thaddeus Young and Anthony Bennett — coming the other way.
With so much shake-up to the roster, it’s unclear what Flip Saunders envisions by making what would be a major splash and signing Bledsoe, a restricted free agent, to a four-year, $63 million maximum level contract. The Suns and Bledsoe, 24, have been deadlocked in negotiations all summer after the team offered him a four-year, $48 million contract in July.
The proposed move presents major questions for the immediate and long-term future of the Timberwolves roster.
Firstly, because of cap restrictions, the only a way a Bledsoe and his big-money contract could join Minnesota would be through a sign-and-trade deal. Thus, someone has to leave the Timberwolves. According to ESPN, Minnesota has “made some aggressive offers to Phoenix to try to get them to accept a deal.”
We know the Timberwolves attempted to offload the bloated contracts of Kevin Martin and J.J. Barea earlier in the summer, while it’s unclear whom Phoenix would want from Minnesota. Chase Budinger and Corey Brewer would appear to offer the right combination of talent that would intrigue the Suns and the type of costly contracts the Timberwolves would like to expunge.
The biggest question of all, though, is what does this mean for Rubio?
Flip Saunders’ attempt to acquire a young and expensive point guard in his second year as the team’s president of basketball operations appears to be a clear indictment of his confidence or lack thereof in the Spanish ball handler.
Remember, Rubio was the prized possession of Saunder’s predecessor David Kahn, who drafted him fifth overall. It was Kahn who refused to offer Kevin Love a maximum contract in 2012 because, as has been conjectured, he was saving the money for when Rubio became a free agent in 2015.
Rubio, 23, is entering the final year of his four-year, $15 million rookie contract and in many regards has not lived up to his considerable hype. After three years in the league, Rubio is on pace to become the worst shooter, percentage-wise, in NBA history, according to HoopsHype. Bringing in Bledsoe could signal that Rubio is seen as expendable by Saunders.
The Suns have seemingly already planned for the exit of Bledsoe, who averaged 18 points and 5.5 assists in his first season as a full-time starter, by drafting guard Tyler Ennis in the first round of this year’s NBA Draft and signing free-agent guard Isaiah Thomas to a four-year, $27 million deal in July.
Tellingly, when asked about giving Rubio a contract extension yesterday, Timberwolves general manager Milt Newton was noncommittal, saying to the Associated Press that he was optimistic about the point guard putting pen to paper but that ultimately the team wasn’t in a hurry.
“We’re going to do the best thing for the organization, and if we can get something done sooner, great,” he said. “If not, we’re not necessarily in a rush.” In other words, we’ll re-sign Ricky if he comes at the price we want, otherwise we’ll let him walk because we don’t see him as more than a above average role player.
The 2014-15 season will also mark Saunders’ second stint as the Timberwolves head coach. By trying to add Bledsoe, Saunders is making it loud and clear that he isn’t all too excited about working with his current starting point guard.
Nicolas Hallett is a staff writer for 105 The Ticket. He recently graduated from the University of Minnesota and has written for the Murphy News Service, the Minnesota Daily and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Follow him on Twitter @NicolasHallett.