Eric Bledsoe tweeted "I don't wanna be here" to the world on Oct. 22, seemingly telling the Suns front office he would like to play elsewhere. He finally got his wish Tuesday morning.
The Suns are finalizing a trade to send Bledsoe to the Bucks, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe. Phoenix will receive center Greg Monroe, a 2018 protected first-round pick and a 2018 second-round pick in the deal. Both teams are doing medical evaluations of players before anything becomes official. (We learned from the Kyrie Irving trade just how important that process can be.)
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Bledsoe gives the Bucks a boost at the point guard position coming off a 2016-17 season in which he averaged 21.1 points, 6.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. He will be turning 28 in December and has one year remaining on his current contract before he hits free agency in 2019.
Monroe is in the final season of a three-year, $50 million deal and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The pick is the bigger part of the deal heading into the 2018 NBA Draft, as the Suns could potentially have three first-rounders next year: their own first, the Heat's Nos. 1-7 protected first and the Bucks' first acquired in this trade, which will have lottery protections, per Wojnarowski and Lowe.
Wojnarowski previously reported the Bucks wanted to add Bledsoe but were not willing to give up young, talented players like Malcolm Brogdon, Thon Maker or Jabari Parker, who should return from injury later this season. This trade allowed Milwaukee to snag a player it holds in high regard without losing a piece of its core.
Bledsoe averaged 15.7 points and 3.0 assists in only three games this season before the Suns sent him home following his infamous tweet. Bledsoe has since been fined $10,000 by the NBA for his social media message, but ESPN's Brian Windhorst put a positive spin on the cost of the tweet.
Might've been the best $10,000 Eric Bledsoe ever spent
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) November 7, 2017
The Bucks will battle the Cavs in Cleveland on Tuesday night, but Bledsoe is not expected to play just yet, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. Bledsoe will meet with the team in San Antonio on Wednesday ahead of Friday's game against the Spurs.
