Cleveland Cavaliers: Could Ante Zizic and Isaiah Thomas be flipped for Eric Bledsoe?
The Phoenix Suns’ Eric Bledsoe was on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ radar for quite a while, and his name could easily re-appear in trade talks that make sense all around.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have had an interesting offseason. They flipped nearly half their roster, and they are about to enter training camp with a fully loaded and ready roster. But, with the news of the Isaiah Thomas’ injury, could they already be thinking about moving on? Is there any concern that Thomas might not ready for a Finals’ run?
Isaiah Thomas was a star last season, but it might be time for the Cavaliers to gain someone more reliable. Eric Bledsoe, whose name was commonly mentioned among Kyrie Irving trade talks, could again be a target. No reports have come out, but for both teams, it might make too much sense not to.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have too many injury-prone point guards; Bledsoe would change that. Both Derrick Rose and Isaiah Thomas will scare fans just about every game this upcoming season. Rose played in 64 games last season. While a solid tally for Rose, his knees could falter at any moment, as seen in just about every season the former-MVP has played in. For Thomas, his injury could force him not to return until the All-Star break. Along with that, the addition of Eric Bledsoe, according to ESPN’s NBA Rank, would bring in a better player than both Rose and Thomas. Bledsoe ranked a couple spots higher than Thomas in the #NBARank. He would also not be as much of a defensive liability which could insurmountably help the Cavaliers’ Finals chances.
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That said, the Cavaliers might not end up paying Isaiah Thomas this offseason, so they might as well get some value out of him before they let him go. Ante Zizic, a young center acquired from Boston in the Kyrie Irving trade, could be a good piece in the future, but the Cavaliers should be more concerned about the present.
For the Suns, Bledsoe is under contract for two more seasons. Bledsoe, in a couple seasons, will most likely not be part of the Phoenix Suns’ rebuilding plan, and he will probably be looking for a max contract from some willing NBA team. They might as well let Bledsoe go, gain Thomas, and then let Thomas walk this upcoming season. They would have much more cap going into the offseason, an offseason loaded with superstar talent. Bringing Phoenix back into contention could inevitably be a couple seasons away, but giving Bledsoe a max and then either Devin Booker or Josh Jackson a max might not be in their best interest. In a couple seasons, the Suns will only have so much money to around, and they should be concerned for the long-term future and let Bledsoe go. Bledsoe is a star, but he is not the superstar to take the Suns back to the promise land.
The Cavaliers would be able to flip an injury-prone point guard for another star guard with more upside and less injury probability. For Phoenix, they might as well get a young, rim-protecting center and think long-term cap-wise.
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Both teams have a viable reason to do this trade. Albeit, it looks better from Cleveland’ side, Phoenix might also be able to find some light in a trade like this.