Report: Milwaukee Bucks to make offer to Phoenix Suns’ Eric Bledsoe
Jul 5, 2014, 7:44 PM | Updated: 8:06 pm
Armed with the No. 2 selection in the 2014 NBA Draft, Jabari Parker, and a new head coach, Jason Kidd, the Milwaukee Bucks are looking to bolster their roster, particularly in the backcourt.
ESPN reporter Marc Stein tweeted Saturday that Milwaukee will be pitching an offer sheet to Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe, who is a restricted free agent. Stein also said that the Bucks are pursuing RFA Greivis Vasquez of the Toronto Raptors and considering a trade for Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin.
Bledsoe, 24, would make $3.7 million next season if he finishes out his current contract. The Suns would be able to match any offer that other teams might make to him this summer.
In his first season as a full-time starter, the 6-foot-1 combo guard put up 17.7 points, 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game in 43 contests. He missed a good portion of the year after tearing meniscus cartilage in his right knee and undergoing arthroscopic surgery.
Vasquez is also a restricted free agent who is scheduled to make $3.2 million in 2014-15. Despite leading the league in assists in 2012-13 with the New Orleans Pelicans, the 27-year-old Vasquez has played on four teams in his four-year career. Last year between Toronto and Sacramento, the 6-foot-6 guard posted 9.6 points and 4.1 assists in 22.5 minutes per contest, a significant drop from his numbers a season prior.
After earning around $5 million in each of his first two seasons with the Rockets, the 25-year-old Lin is scheduled to make nearly $15 million in 2014-15, the final year of his contract.
Houston seems committed to Patrick Beverley at point guard going forward, and thus Lin’s price has made him a popular trade candidate this summer. The four-year veteran reportedly wasn’t happy when Houston hosted free agent Carmelo Anthony on Wednesday and featured a Photoshopped banner of the star forward in a Rockets jersey with Lin’s No. 7.
