Former Suns GM Kerr ‘loves’ Bledsoe acquisition
Jul 10, 2013, 8:25 PM | Updated: 8:26 pm
The man who once made Jared Dudley a Phoenix Sun approves of the deal that sent him to the Los Angeles Clippers for guard Eric Bledsoe and forward Caron Butler.
Former Suns general manager Steve Kerr weighed in on last week’s trade while a guest of Arizona Sports 620’s Doug and Wolf show Tuesday.
“I think it’s a great move for both teams,” Kerr said. “I love it for the Suns.”
The July 2 move was the first big trade of the Ryan McDonough era, and landing a guard as highly sought after as Bledsoe seemed to highlight the trade, both locally and nationally.
Kerr, now an NBA analyst with TNT, sees prospective stardom in the Suns’ pickup.
“You get Bledsoe, who is a potential star,” he went on. “We don’t know yet. We haven’t seen him as a starter in the league but there’s no doubt he’s got the potential to be a high-level starting point guard in the NBA.”
For most, that — talent — was never a question after the Suns acquired the 21-year-old last week. Rather, many wondered whether Bledsoe would be able to play alongside current Suns point guard Goran Dragic.
Kerr wasn’t one of them.
“I think they can play together; I don’t see any problem there.”
He went on to note that Dragic spent time playing the two guard with Steve Nash a few years back and Bledsoe played the position with Chris Paul in Los Angeles. Kerr sees both guards as versatile enough to play either position, whether on offense or defense.
“Defensively, I don’t see any problems with them playing together. Goran’s got good size, so he can chase a two (guard) and Bledsoe is really strong, so he can do the same.”
During the breakdown of the trade, Kerr was also sure to mention the value of his former acquisition.
“The Clippers get a guy who was really made to be on a contender in Dudley.”