The Pulse: Most say Eric Bledsoe and agent Rich Paul are at fault for contract standoff with Phoenix Suns
Aug 15, 2014, 10:02 PM | Updated: 10:43 pm
It’s nearly unamimous: fans are sided with the Phoenix Suns in their contract standoff with restricted free-agent point guard Eric Bledsoe and his agent, Rich Paul.
Bledsoe and Paul famously rejected the Suns’ four-year, $48 million offer earlier this summer, as reports surfaced that Bledsoe was seeking a maximum five-year, $80 million deal. But with no such offers forthcoming, Bledsoe’s future with the Suns remains in limbo.
In Thursday’s Sanderson Ford Poll Question of the Day, we asked:
Who do you blame for the Suns/Eric Bledsoe contract standoff?
We provided three answers:
• Suns
• Eric Bledsoe and agent Rich Paul
• Both are at fault
Of the nearly 1,000 votes cast, 89 percent blame Bledsoe and Paul for the ongoing contract dispute. Just 2 percent hold the Suns more accountable for the standoff.
Earlier this week, Yahoo! NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski told Bickley and Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM that Bledsoe and Paul had “boxed themselves into a corner” by rejecting the Suns’ offer but being unable to obtain an offer sheet from another team. It would seem that fans tend to agree with Woj’s assessment.