The New Orleans Pelicans need more talent at the shooting guard position before next season starts.
The Pels’ fanbase has been an angry mob of differing opinions for most of the season but one thing most agree on is that Bledsoe is not part of the future.
I am loathe to scapegoat any one player for the Pels’ season, as they have a lot of problems, but Bledsoe has definitely been one of them, as his offense has been fairly awful (especially lately) and his defense has taken a step back.
It’s easy for fans to yell “TRADE BLEDSOE” on Twitter but the truth is that it won’t be that easy.
Will the New Orleans Pelicans be able to trade Eric Bledsoe this offseason? Yes, but what kind of team might want him?
New Orleans Pelicans: Trading Eric Bledsoe to a rebuilding team
Eric Bledsoe is 31-years-old and is having one of his worst seasons as a pro. He is also due to make over $18 million next season and these two factors are not going to make him easy to trade.
The Pels will probably have to toss in a sweetener to make it happen in the form of one of their many draft picks. There will definitely be some rebuilding teams with cap space who might be willing to take on Bledsoe’s contract in exchange for a first round pick.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have done this successfully the last few seasons and would probably take on Bledsoe if they got some future draft compensation.
Giving up a first-round pick just to get rid of a guy is never a great option but it is probably the Pelicans’ easiest route to moving on from Bledsoe.
New Orleans Pelicans: Trading Eric Bledsoe to a contender
I think Bledsoe can still be a productive player in the NBA in the right situation and chasing the 10th seed on a young team is probably not it.
Bledsoe has looked checked out at times this season, culminating with his bonehead mistake against the Knicks in which he admitted he wasn’t “paying attention.”
Guys at his stage in their careers want to be chasing rings, not play-in games and Bledsoe could definitely carve out a role for himself on a good team.
For the Pels to make this happen, they would almost certainly have to take on an equally odious contract in exchange, but could possibly get a guy who is a better fit.
The options aren’t going to be plentiful for this type of trade and it likely wouldn’t free up much if any cap space anyway.
The New Orleans Pelicans are going to have a tough time trading Eric Bledsoe unless they want to lose a first-round pick, but that may be their only option if they want to shake things up next season.