The Phoenix Suns have made a solid offer to Cleveland Cavaliers’ All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving but it doesn’t include either Josh Jackson or Devin Booker. According to Dana Wolfson of ESPN 1500, the Suns want to ship Eric Bledsoe, second-year power forward/center Dragan Bender and a draft pick to the Cavaliers for the superstar guard. Irving recently met with Cavaliers team owner Dan Gilbert and asked for a trade to one of his four preferred teams, the San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and the New York Knicks.
The package could entice the Cavaliers, who are looking for a win-now veteran, a blue-chip young player, and a top pick.
The Cavaliers reportedly are willing to trade Irving to the Suns if they will include rookie No. 4 pick Josh Jackson or high-scoring shooting guard Devin Booker as part of a trade package. However, the Suns turned down the request as they don’t want to part ways with either Jackson or Booker.
Bledsoe could replace Irvin at point guard
The 28-year-old Bledsoe could be fill the part of the win-now veteran that the Cavaliers are looking. While he may be a downgrade at point guard, he was coming off his best year in his seven seasons with the league. Last season, Bledsoe averaged career-highs of 21.2 points and 6.3 assists in 66 games. He was shut down by the Suns for the last 16 games of the season.
In his career, he averaged 13.1 points, 4.6 assists and 3.8 boards, numbers that pale in comparison with Irving’s stats of 21.6 points and 5.6 assists per game.
Recently, James worked out with Bledsoe in Las Vegas, fueling speculations that he could be headed to the Cavaliers. James also has a close relationship with Bledsoe as they share the same agent.
The Cavaliers superstar even attended Bledsoe’s wedding recently.
Bender a disappointment in rookie year
The 7-foot-1 Bender was a disappointment in his rookie year, averaging just 3.4 points per game in just 13.3 minutes of action. However, those minutes may dwindle if he joins the Cavaliers, who already have a solid frontcount with Tristan Thompson, Channing Frye, LeBron James and Jeff Green in the rotation.
The Cavaliers can bring in a third team into the mix where they can get a young player, instead of Bender. According to Dan Feldman of NBC Sports, the Suns refuse to offer Jackson to the Cavaliers because of uncertainty that Irving will not sign a long-term deal with them. Irving has two years remaining in his contract but he’s not willing to commit to a long-term deal that will trade for him.
