Barbershop Gate

 How can you grab more headlines as a sport in the last 12+ months than the NBA has? From the Russell Westbrook MVP run that saw the Oklahoma City guard average a triple double, the passive aggressive tweets from Lebron James about the Cleveland roster, and the complete dominance that Steph Curry and Kevin Durant showed in the Finals. And then, the offseason happened.

In that offseason, we got a collection of “W.T.F” moments that brought Twitter and the NBA media to its knees. From the Paul George trade about 10 minutes into the new NBA calendar year, the Gordon Hayward saga, the Woj bomb that made Twitter stand on its head at midnight EST after finding out that the 76’ers traded for the number one overall draft selection. After that you have the Jimmy Butler trade on draft night. Lonzo Ball and Jason Tatum lit the NBA Summer League on fire (yes, Summer League, people actually cared about Summer League basketball). Instagram watched as Carmelo Anthony transformed into “Hoodie Melo,” while witnessing Lebron James not wearing a shirt the entire summer. As, Kevin Durant sub-tweeted his former team—exposing his burner account, bringing back the criticisms of why Durant left in the first place, which lead to one of the greatest monologues in radio history by Fox Sports Colin Cowherd. As he explained why switching teams is such a life altering decision to make for anyone, much less young NBA Super Star.

That would have been enough for one offseason, but there is more.

After all of that, we got trades-a-palooza. Chris Paul didn’t “tamper” his way onto Houston, which created yet another “Super Team” in the West. Kyrie Irving whining his way onto the Boston Celtics. Which, is one of the most unprecedented trades in the history of the NBA. Finally, you have the Carmelo Anthony trade to Oklahoma City. Which, yet again, created another “Super Team” in the Western Conference.

That was a basic outline of the last 12+ months in about 320 words. After all of this, I don’t know how any NBA fan can expect anything or rule anything out.  After an offseason like that, it becomes impossible to imagine what could happen next offseason. But, what an offseason like this does is make the sport of basketball and the league as a whole a 12-month sport. It also shows how much power the players in the NBA have compared to other professional sports leagues. Try to imagine Odell Beckham Jr. or Nolan Arenado complained their way into a trade. The NFL or MLB would go up in flames and their fans to boot would be up in arms. It has just become something of a norm in the NBA.

This has continued this week after the Phoenix Suns fire their head coach Earl Watson after just three games. While this is something that you almost never see in any league, it brings up the power struggle that NBA front offices are currently going through with their players. This past Sunday, Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe tweeted “I Dont wanna be here” after learning about the news of Watson being fired.

It has been rumored for a few years now that Bledsoe was unhappy with his situation in Phoenix. From the log jam that they had in the backcourt when Bledsoe signed a five year $70 Million contract back in 2014. Bledsoe’s name was also brought up this past offseason when the news broke about a possible Kyrie Irving trade.

Honestly, I cannot blame Bledsoe for being unhappy with the way the Suns have been run over the past few years. Ryan McDonough hasn’t been the best executive since he started as the head man of Phoenix back in 2013. There has been a new head coach every year under McDonough [ Alvin Gentry (fired in 2013), Lindsey Hunter (replaced Gentry and fired after the season), Jeff Hornacek (replaced Hunter and was fired before the 2016 season), and Earl Watson (who took over for Hornacek and was fired on Sunday). Whoever will be the next head coach of the Phoenix Suns won’t fix the issues left by the four men who came before him and the issues that have arisen when you have a coaching carousel.

With the displeasure that Bledsoe has shown on Twitter this past Sunday, is another way a player can generate leverage against an NBA front office. Bledsoe has a legitimate reason to want out of the desert, Ryan McDonough sending Bledsoe home because he didn’t believe Bledsoe’s excuse of “being at a hair salon.” Bledsoe’s barber himself debunked that alibi so it looks like Bledsoe has to find himself a new team and a new barber. With the mutual displeasure in Phoenix it simultaneously fires up the NBA trade machine.

Dusting off the cobwebs off the trade machine I have conjured up five trades that you could see in the upcoming days out of Phoenix:

1.      Bledsoe being sent to Milwaukee. This furthers their pursuit of gaining talent to challenge the Celtics and Cavaliers in the East. While, surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo with the best point guard he has had in his career. Phoenix would get back Matthew Dellavedova, the Bucks first round draft pick this year D.J. Wilson, and a 2019 2^nd rounder.

2.      Bledsoe to Denver. In return to Phoenix, the Suns would get Kenneth Faried, Will Barton, and a 2018 2^nd rounder. This trade would give the Nuggets a viable option at guard to pair with Wilson Chandler and Jokic, and Paul Millsap as they try to make noise in the cluttered Western Conference.

3.      Bledsoe to the Knicks. I know the Knicks just traded away Carmelo Anthony, but the fan base is unhappy with the return that they got back for Melo, as well as the awful cast that former GM and Teepee builder Phil Jackson put together. Scott Perry could do some right in the wake of the many wrongs by Jackson. Phoenix would be getting the horrible contract of Joakim Noah, a good shooter in Courtney Lee, and the Knicks 2018 2^nd rounder. This would give the Knicks a good bridge guard to pair with Hardaway Jr. and give Porzingis his best point guard that he has had in his young career. This also gives the Knicks an option to make noise in an easy Eastern Conference.

4.      Bledsoe to the Lakers. I know this is a hard trade for Suns and Laker fans to comprehend because of the rivalry that sparked up with the early 2000’s between these two teams. The Suns would get Julius Randle, the ginormous contract of Luol Deng, as well as swapping first round picks in the upcoming draft with Phoenix. The pick swap has to be put in there because of the money dump that the Suns would take from the Lakers. The going price for dumping a contract is a first-round pick, and looking at the assets that both teams have—a pick swap is the only rational thing that works for both teams. 

5.      The final trade is a three teamer. The teams are the Magic, Grizzles, and of course the Suns. Orlando would get Bledsoe and two 2018 second rounder from both teams. Memphis would get Terrance Ross, Elfrid Payton, and Jared Dudley, with the Suns getting Chandler Parsons, Aaron Gordon, a 2020 1^st rounder from Orlando.

Out of all the trades, I think the one that makes the most sense is the Milwaukee Bucks deal. The Bucks are one of the most talented teams in the East and if you add Eric Bledsoe on that squad, the sky is the limit for this team. The Bucks are a point guard away from having a real chance at challenging Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals. It is only the second week of the NBA season and all of this is happening right in front of our eyes. There is only more to come and more storylines to miraculously unfold until the NBA Finals in June, what could be next.

Bledsoe will be gone within the next few days, and if it’s not to one of these teams I will be in shock. This trade will also set the point guard trade market (and market period) for the rest of the season and we are only two weeks in. Like I said before the season started in Cleveland… this is going to be a lot of fun!