The season of his life now in his rear view mirror, Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe doesn’t seem quite sure what should come next on his ride to NBA superstardom.
Though the 24-year-old, fourth-year veteran played in just 43 games this season due to a left meniscus injury, his impact was undeniably felt in the Suns turnaround 48-34 season. His reward for it all? Even more drama, not to mention the right to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, which to a large extent has only meant more uncertainty for the budding, surefire future All-Star.
While Bledsoe hasn’t said he wants out in Phoenix, he hasn’t exactly attached himself to the franchise either. In fact, whenever quizzed on the matter Bledsoe deflects questions as adroitly as he does stray passes along the perimeter.
“I’m just going into the summer, getting 100 percent healthy and just enjoy my family,” the man who averaged career highs of 17.7 points, 5.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals this season told Arizonsports.com. “Whatever happens next year, it happens. I’m just going into this summer focused, like I started off last summer, getting better every game and getting 100 percent healthy.”
Bolstering the Suns hopes of being able to retain his services is management’s knowledge that any team that makes him an offer they have the right to match. “He can’t go anywhere,” coach Jeff Hornacek recently told the website.
It should also come as some comfort to Suns to know that Bledsoe seems very grateful to the organization that gave him the chance no other team seemed willing to over his first three years in the league.
“It’s definitely fun and exciting to prove a lot of people wrong,” he said. “Everybody had a lot of doubts in me coming into the season, me and Goran Dragic playing together, me by myself running a team. It definitely put the icing on the cake for me to go out there and show what I can do every night.
