The Phoenix Suns reportedly signed restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe to a contract extension Wednesday evening. In light of Bledsoe's multi-year deal, could point guard Goran Dragic now be expendable?
After months of limbo, Bledsoe and the Suns reached an agreement that will keep the guard in Phoenix for the foreseeable future. Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski first broke the news.
"Restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe has reached agreement with the Suns on a 5-year, $70 million extension, league source tells Yahoo," Wojnarowski tweeted Wednesday.
With Bledsoe now locked under contract, the question becomes what do the Suns do with Dragic? Dragic reportedly said he planned to opt out of his contract this summer, become a free agent and re-sign with Phoenix.
"Got a very interesting position with the club. Guess I'll break the contract and sign a new one," Dragic told Siol.net on Sept. 8, as translated by Google. "As I spoke (to the Suns), I immediately during the first week, when the market opens, sign and there I can (be) calm."
Signing a new deal with Phoenix allows him to make the most money, but it's uncertain how much the Suns would be willing to pay him now with Bledsoe under contract. Dragic put up great numbers playing alongside Bledsoe, but his future in Phoenix partly depends on what his asking price will be - unless, of course, Phoenix is determined to have him no matter what the cost and how much roster shuffling it takes.
Phoenix will want to get a clear feeling of Dragic's asking price sometime before the February trade deadline so that if it's too high, the team can at least shop him for a trade and get something in return.
